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•        '' '  •''  ' 

A  Prince  in 

The  Garret 

A  NOVEL 

By 

ARCHIBALD  CLAVERING   GUNTER 

AUTHOR    OF 

"MR.  BARNES  OF  NEW  YORK,"  "THE  KING'S 
STOCKBROKER,"  Etc.,  Etc. 


NEW  YORK 

HURST  &  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


s.TU    UOTYtSS   l-S 


Copyright,  1905 

by 

THE  HOME  PUBLISHING  CO. 
All  Right*  Reienred 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.   The  fortune  hunters  of  Paris 7 

II.   The  curious  boarding  house  in  the  Rue  de 

Provence . .... 36 

III.  The  New  Orleans  lawyer -«  70 

IV.  Annande  de  Millefleurs 106 

V.    Gaspard  and  Mignonette. 141 

VI.  I've  lost  you — that  is  the  end  of  me ! 163 

VII.  Miss  Gertie  visits  the  American  Consul..  .181 

VIII.  The  triumph  of  the  Theatre  Cluny 195 

IX.  Love  among  the  rats 218 

X.  The  Prince  in  the  attic 253 


2135831 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

Putting  young  Mrs.  Horton  through  "the  Third 

Degree" Archie  Gunn 

FRONTISPIECE 

"I  was  alone,  helpless,  in  Paris  without  money !" 

Herman  Rountree    67 

The  triumph  of  Calypso Herman  Rountree  219 

A  pale  faced  girl  is  gliding  silently  from  the 
room  .      .....         ,...,,  .Herman  Rountree  246 


A    PRINCE    IN    THE 
GARRET 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE    FORTUNE    HUNTEKS   OP    PARIS. 

Paris  had  been  glad.  Paris  was  sad.  The  great 
Exposition  of  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  under  the  auspices  of  Louis  Napoleon,  Emperor 
of  the  French,  was  over,  and  the  crowd  of  visitors 
from  the  four  quarters  of  the  world  that  had  en- 
tered the  boulevards  of  the  Gallic  Capital  with  full 
purses,  and  thronged  its  theatres  and  cafes,  were 
going  away  with  empty  ones. 

The  enormous  exhibition  buildings  in  the  Champ 
de  Mars  were  closed,  and  tribes  of  wandering  Kirghis, 
Bedouin  Arabs  and  Algerines  that  had  given  exhibi- 
tions of  life  on  the  deserts  of  Africa  and  on  the 
Steppes  of  Asia  had  folded  up  their  tents  and  de- 
parted. Though  the  main  boulevards  of  the  great 
Gallic  Capital  were  still  full  of  the  glory  and  glam- 

7 


S  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

our  of  the  Second  Empire,  from  its  arteries  of  trade 
had  been  withdrawn  many  of  the  red  corpuscles  of 
Parisian  life;  that  is,  visiting  foreigners  with  the 
means  to  pay  extravagant  prices  for  the  luxuries  and 
dainty  nicknacks  of  costume  and  ornament  for  which 
the  French  Capital  is  celebrated. 

After  the  manner  of  all  such  exhibitions  and 
world's  fairs,  the  grand  International  Exposition  had 
left  financial  wreck  and  ruin  behind  it  in  the  hotel 
and  boarding  house  business.  Among  these  financial 
catastrophes  there  was  no  one  that  threatened  to  be 
more  disastrous  than  that  of  Madame  Suzanne  Per- 
rique's  aristocratic  pension  in  the  Eue  de  Provence. 

Situated  quite  near  the  broad  Boulevard  Hauss- 
man,  Madame  Perrique's  house,  though  rambling 
and  old-fashioned,  had  been  well  filled  by  a  hetero- 
geneous clientele  of  men  and  women  who  had  sought 
pleasant  surroundings  and  endurable  meals  at  prices 
that  were  little  short  of  absolute  beggary. 

But  with  the  end  of  the  Exposition,  Madame  Per- 
rique's guests  had  drifted  to  the  unknown,  leaving 
behind  them  a  deserted  house.  In  fact,  as  Silas 
Squabbs  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  U.  S.,  had  grimly 
remarked  on  his  departure  as  he  settled  his  landlady's 
exorbitant  bill :  "After  the  boom  comes  the  bust,  my 
dear  Madame  PerriqueV  . 


J.  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  9 

This  direful  prophecy,  spoken  in  the  American 
vernacular  with  a  Yankee  accent,  the  Parisian  board- 
ing house  keeper  understood  perfectly  and  shud- 
dered. Though  Madame  Suzanne  Perrique,  from 
long  residence  in  Paris  was  now  French  in  her  bear- 
ing, manner  and  even  speech,  she  was  by  birth  Ameri- 
can. Originally  Susan  Priscilla  Squanton  of  New 
England,  she  had  married  a  gentleman  named  Per- 
kins, the  Paris  agent  of  an  American  house  import- 
ing French  wines.  Upon  his  death,  in  eighteen 
hundred  and  fifty-six,  the  widow  Perkins  had  in- 
creased a  somewhat  slender  income  by  setting  up  a 
girl's  boarding  school  in  the  Rue  du  Eocher  and  had 
succeeded  in  attracting  to  her  institution  a  few 
American  misses  as  well  as  some  English  girls  who 
had  journeyed  to  Paris  to  obtain  instruction  either 
in  French  or  music;  a  few  years  later  she  had  re- 
moved her  increasing  school  from  her  first  location 
to  a  larger  house  in  the  Eue  de  Milan. 

But  as  the  ex-schoolmistress  had  grown  old  she  had 
become  avaricious,  and  some  six  months  previous, 
actuated  by  a  sudden  desire  of  accumulating  a  for- 
tune rapidly  and  tempted  by  the  enormous  prices  she 
thought  she  could  obtain  from  the  concourse  of 
visitors  to  the  grand  French  Exposition,  she  had  re- 
signed the  modest  certainty  of  maitresse  d'ecole  in 


^TJI   liOTTlSG  US 
10  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

the  Rue  du  Eocher  and  engaged  in  the  more  finan- 
cially ambitious  but  perilous  occupation  of  hotesse  in 
the  big,  rambling,  old-fashioned  house  in  the  Eue  de 
Provence. 

In  order  to  add  to  the  glamour-  of  her  pension  in 
the  eyes  of  visiting  Americans,  Mrs.  Perkins'  cards 
now  read  "Madame  Suzanne  Perrique,"  though  to 
those  who  had  known  her  before  she  made  no  great 
secret  of  her  change  of  name. 

And  now,  two  days  after  the  departure  of  Mr. 
Squabbs,  who  having  been  a  Western  land  speculator 
aware  of  the  baneful  effects  of  booms,  Madame  Per- 
rique  looking  about  her  big  deserted  parlors,  in  which 
the  lights  had  been  turned  very  low  to  save  gas  bills, 
muttered  to  herself  in  heartsick  tone:  "After  the 
boom  comes  the  bust,"  and  knew  his  prognostications 
had  been  correct.  She  thought  of  the  mansion  she 
had  been  compelled  to  lease  for  a  year  and  shuddered 
at  its  emptiness,  for  nothing  is  so  dishearteningly 
lonely  as  a  big  hotel  or  boarding  house  untenanted. 
Then  remembering  the  uncompromising  man  of  af- 
fairs who  would  come  in  less  than  a  week  to  collect 
the  month's  rent  in  advance,  and  gazing  at  the  un- 
occupied sofas,  lounges  and  ottomans  she  had  only 
partly  paid  for,  Madame  Perrique's  sigh  had  changed 
into  a  moan.  She  had  muttered  hysterically: 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  11 

"Ruined!"  and  sunk  down  with  a  yellow  laugh  of 
despair  into  one  of  her  many  vacant  arm  chairs. 

But  that  was  yesterday! 

The  next  evening  all  had  changed! 

The  house  in  the  Rue  de  Provence  was  brilliantly 
lighted  and  thronged  to  overflowing.  It  was  as  if 
the  wand  of  an  enchanter  had  been  waved  over  Ma- 
dame Perrique's  empty  mansion  and  it  had  become 
crowded.  Struggling  for  Perrique's  rooms,  content 
to  pay  in  advance  her  wildest  prices,  were  a  hetero- 
geneous mixture  of  Parisians,  Germans,  English 
sporting-men,  Turks  and  Jews,  with  a  wandering 
Greek  or  two  thrown  in  and  an  occasional  baron  or 
count,  some  of  whose  names  did  not  appear  in  the 
Almanac  de  Gotha — part  of  the  residue  of  the  Grand 
Exposition. 

For  despite  the  fading  glamour  of  Louis  Napo- 
leon's Empire,  his  ill-fated  Mexican  expedition  hav- 
ing just  ended  with  the  execution  of  the  unfortunate 
Maximilian,  Paris  was  still  the  Mecca  of  adventur- 
ous spirits,  and  its  boulevards  and  streets  were  still 
patrolled  by  men  about  town,  chevaliers  d'industrie 
and  petits  creves,  some  in  pursuit  of  women,  some  in 
pursuit  of  pleasure,  all  in  pursuit  of  gold. 

From  her  large  dining-salon  arose  the  clatter  of 
many  noisy  knives  and  forks,  the  clinking  of  glasses 


13  A  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET 

showing  that  wine  was  flowing,  and  the  chatter  of 
half  the  tongues  of  Europe  making  an  after-dinner 
masculine  Babel. 

For  Madame  Perrique's  boarding  house  was  curi- 
ously filled  only  with  men!  With  the  exception  of 
its  presiding  goddess,  there  was  no  Eve  in  this 
Adam's  Eden — and  Madame  Perrique  was  almost 
masculine  enough  to  be  considered  of  the  sterner 
sex. 

This  perhaps  had  been  produced  by  her  autocratic 
sway  as  a  schoolmistress,  the  grim  landlady  having 
brought  with  her  a  certain  academic  severity  of  voice 
and  demeanor  from  her  schoolroom. 

Yet  over  the  dining-table  this  evening  the  austere- 
visaged  Perrique  was  all  smiles,  though  there  was  a 
peculiar  nervous  uncertainty  in  her  sharp  grey  eyes; 
perhaps  because  she  could  hardly  believe  them,  for 
during  the  meal  once  or  twice  Suzanne  bit  her 
skinny  fingers  to  be  quite  sure  her  sudden  prosperity 
was  real. 

In  addition,  the  presence  of  nothing  but  men  in 
the  house  seemed  extraordinary  to  her,  though  the 
autocracy  of  the  schoolmistress,  which  leavened  her 
intercourse  with  her  own  sex,  had  always  made  her 
house  unpopular  with  ladies.  Still  Madame  Per- 
rique's authoritative  manner  had  almost  coerced  a 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  13 

few  of  her  former  pupils,  who  had  visited  the  Pa- 
risian Exposition  with  their  husbands,  to  be  her 
guests.  This  was  instanced  by  sweet  Mrs.  Montjoy, 
who  as  little  Stella  Bascom  had  been  under  the  rule 
of  the  stern  Suzanne  in  the  Rue  du  Bocher,  pleading 
to  her  husband  after  a  day's  sojourn  in  Madame  Per- 
rique's  boarding  house:  "Take  me  away  from  here, 
quick,  Jimmy,  or  I'll  get  to  curtsying  to  her,  assum- 
ing the  first  position,  toes  turned  out,  and  reciting 
French  verbs  when  my  old  dragon  of  a  schoolmistress 
comes  into  the  dining-room.  Oh,  those  terrific  eyes 
of  hers !" 

But  in  her  success  this  evening,  a  full  house  mak- 
ing the  landlady  happy,  despite  her  fifty  grim  years, 
Madame  Perrique  is  very  affable  to  her  new  lodgers. 
She  even  jokes  with  the  Count  de  Pichoir  about  that 
young  aristocrat's  reported  numerous  conquests  in 
court  circles ;  she  chats  pleasantly  as  to  the  drama  he 
is  running  with  Monsieur  Paul  Rousette,  the  man- 
ager of  the  Cluny  Theatre,  who  for  some  unknown 
reason  has  this  day  given  up  his  luxurious  bachelor 
quarters  in  the  Boulevard  Saint  Germain  near  his 
playhouse  and  crossed  the  river  to  accept  her  indif- 
ferent accommodations. 

So,  despite  the  absence  of  ladies,  the  dinner  goes 
pleasantly  on,  the  gentlemen  complimenting  their 


14  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

new  hostess  effusively  in  several  different  languages, 
and  all  seeming  very  eager  to  gain  her  good  will. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  meal,  Alphonse,  Madame 
Perrique's  chief  factotum,  coming  out  of  the  dining 
room,  grins  to  himself:  "A  noisy  crowd,  but  there's 
money  in  them.  The  hum  of  many  boarders  means 
wages  for  Alphonse — back  wages,  unpaid  wages,  now 
about  to  be  liquidated  in  full."  Then  he  slaps  his 
hand  to  his  head  and  a  Gallic  grin  ripples  his  fea- 
tures as  he  asks  himself :  "Who  the  deuce  is  the  poor 
American  girl  these  men  are  all  so  eager  for?"  A 
moment  after  he  ejaculates:  "Didble,  here's  another; 
and  every  man  of  them  boulevardiers !" 

For  a  solemn  looking  Turkish  gentleman,  whose 
religion  is  indicated  by  a  red  fez,  stands  before  the 
gargon,  and  slipping  a  ten  franc  bill  into  his  hand, 
whispers  a  few  sententious  words. 

"Certainly,  your  Excellency,  Hadji  Pacha,  I  will 
inform  you  instantly;  remember  my  signal — three 
taps  on  the  back,"  rejoins  Alphonse,  pocketing  the 
note. 

"Shukur  Allah,"  replies  the  Turk,  "I  will  remem- 
ber. Three  taps  on  the  back  the  moment  Made- 
moiselle Gertrude  Eloise  Hammond  of  Missesseep, 
Amerique,  enters  Madame  Perrique's  portals/'  Con- 
sulting a  letter,  the  Turk  passes  to  the  smoking  room, 


15 

where   a   number   of  gentlemen  have   congregated. 

Quite  shortly  after,  in  his  place,  stands  a  Greek 
of  diplomatic  appearance,  who  wears  a  broad  red 
band  suggestive  of  a  foreign  embassy.  With  great 
circumspection,  he  beckons  Alphonse  to  private  in- 
terview. Whispering  a  few  words  and  placing  a  five- 
franc  piece  in  the  servitor's  eager  hand,  Monsieur 
Marco  Acropolis  smiles  with  Mediterranean  suavity 
as  Alphonse  rejoins:  "Certainly,  I'll  give  you  this 
signal — three  taps  on  the  back.  Don't  forget  it !" 

"Ciio  I  Saint  Constantine,  I'll  never  forget  that. 
Was  that  not  a  ring  at  the  front  door?"  and  the 
Greek  turns  eagerly  towards  the  main  hall  of  the 
establishment. 

"No,  that  was  only  Madame  Perrique  ringing  for 
the  cook  to  put  out  the  gas  in  the  kitchen." 

"Ah,  very  well,  but  don't  forget  to  notify  me  the 
moment  Mademoiselle  Hammond  arrives,"  remarked 
the  Greek  gentleman  earnestly,  then  he  suggested: 
"Couldn't  you  speak  to  Madame  Perrique.  The  room 
given  me  is  decidedly  small  and  uncomfortable." 

"Don't  think  there's  anything  better  in  the  house 
unless  you're  willing  to  pay  fifty  francs  a  day.  But 
there  are  other  boarding  houses  in  the  Boulevard 
Haussman  that  are  not  so  full,"  observed  Alphonse, 
the  nonchalance  of  success  in  his  voice. 


16  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"No,  no;  this  is  the  one.  This  is  the  boarding 
house — the  one  I'll  stay  in !"  and  Marco  Acropolis, 
taking  a  letter  from  his  pocket  book  carefully  con- 
sulted it  as  he  wandered  towards  the  smoking-room, 
leaving  the  waiter  behind  him  rubbing  his  head  in  a 
dazed,  astonished  way. 

"This  is  exceedingly  curious/'  thought  Alphonse. 
"Every  one  of  these  boulevardiers  is  anxious  to  see 
an  American  young  lady,  Mademoiselle  Gertrude 
Eloise  Hammond,  and  some  of  them  have  gone  fur- 
ther and  told  me  that  she  has  been  made  poor  by  the 
death  of  her  parents  from  yellow  fever  in  Mississippi. 
Besides,  every  man  of  them  has  a  letter.  Sapristi, 
they  are  as  anxious  for  her  as  if  she  were  a  prize 
ticket  in  the  Havana  lottery.  Every  time  the  front 
door  bell  rings,  they  rise  like  a  covey  of  partridges." 

For  at  this  moment  the  entrance  gong  having 
sounded,  the  smoking-room  was  instantly  deserted, 
every  gentleman  in  it  having  sought  some  post  of 
vantage  where  he  could  see  who  came  into  the  hall- 
way of  the  mansion. 

Strolling  to  the  door,  Alphonse  found  a  cab  with 
some  baggage  on  it  standing  in  the  street,  and  quite 
shortly  ushered  in  a  young  Englishman  and  a  slip 
of  a  girl  costumed  in  a  light  traveling  dress  of  the 
latest  fashion.  She  was  apparently  either  exceed- 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  17 

ingly  bashful  or  very  much  embarrassed,  for  she 
shrank  timidly  from  the  eager  gaze  of  the  numerous 
gentlemen  inspecting  her  arrival,  and  clung  nerv- 
ously to  her  escort's  arm. 

Crinoline,  which  had  reigned  for  the  last  ten  years, 
was  being  gradually  superseded  by  the  pannier. 
Decked  with  one  of  these  and  assuming  that  languid 
walk  called  at  that  time  "the  Grecian  bend,"  the 
young  lady  glided  along  the  hallway,  her  soft  brown 
hair  dressed  in  the  latest  waterfall  style,  supplement- 
ed by  two  long,  luxuriant,  fashionable  angel-curls,  her 
bright  blue  eyes  raised  anxiously  to  the  gentleman 
at  her  side. 

"You  do  the  talking,  Jack,  dear,"  she  whispered 
into  the  ear  of  the  man  upon  whose  arm  she  leaned, 
as  Alphonse  showed  them  into  a  small  untenanted 
reception  room. 

Acting  on  this  hint,  Jack  Horton,  after  consulting 
a  newspaper  he  carried  in  'his  hand,  said  with 
English  abruptness:  "Would  you  kindly  tell  Ma- 
dame— "  he  looked  at  the  paper  once  more — "Ma- 
dame Perrique,  the  mistress  of  this  boarding  house, 
that  I  would  like  to  see  her.  I  called  in  reference  to 
this  advertisement  as  regards  lodgings." 

"Your  cards,"  suggested  Alphonse,  politely,  but 
sententiously. 


18  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

This  was  answered  by  the  English  girl,  who  re- 
marked diffidently:  "We — we  haven't  any  cards." 

Whereupon  Alphonse,  closing  the  door  upon  them, 
withdrew  to  carry  word  to  his  mistress,  though  he 
was  compelled  to  pause  once  or  twice  on  his  way  to 
shake  his  head  at  gentlemen  who  looked  at  him 
inquiringly. 

Left  by  themselves,  the  English  girl,  who  appar- 
ently is  scarcely  more  than  seventeen,  utters  a  merry 
little  giggle,  partly  o.f  embarrassment,  partly  of 
pleasure,  and  pouts :  "As  if  I  could  have  a  card  when 
we  have  only  been  married  thirty-six  hours.  Oh, 
Jack/'  an  expression  of  happy  dismay  running  over 
her  almost  childlike  features — "ours  was  a  very  wild 
runaway  match.  Miss  Georgina  Fortescue  yesterday 
morning  in  London — Now  I'm  Mrs.  Georgina " 

But  she  gets  no  further,  for  her  husband  putting 
his  arm  about  her  and  giving  her  sweet  lips  an  ar- 
dent kiss,  whispers:  "Horton,  darling  wifey!  Mrs. 
John  Winter  Horton !"  Then  he  growls :  "Oh,  if  I 
only  dared  take  you  with  me.  But  our  union  must 
be  kept  sub  rosa  until  we  have  squared  matters  with 
my  aunt  and  your  uncle." 

"Yes,  isn't  it  horrible,"  pouts  the  girl,  "to  be 
dependent  upon  relatives." 

"And  this  brute  of  a  letter  reaching  me  right  on 


51  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET  19 

my  arrival  from  rich,  auntie/'  mutters  the  young 
husband,  "commanding  that  I  join  her  in  Cannes 
immediately.  If  I  took  you  with  me,  my  pet,  in  that 
little  Mediterranean  watering  place,  Auntie  would 
probably  meet  us  at  the  station.  Anyway,  she  would 
eurely  learn  I  have  a  wife  with  me.  But  I'll  be  back 
in  a  week,  Duckie,"  he  remarks  confidently.  "You 
see,  I  couldn't  very  well  leave  you  at  a  hotel."  He 
glances  at  his  almost  childlike  bride;  then  looks 
around  the  pleasantly  furnished  reception  room  and 
observes:  "It  seems  to  me  this  will  be  a  very  com- 
fortable place  for  your  stay  during  my  absence, 
Sweet  One,  though  I  wish  there  weren't  so  many  in- 
fernal men  in  it." 

"Oh,  Jack,  jealous  already!"  "half  laughs  the 
bride. 

The  groom  is  about  to  answer  this  question  as  it 
should  be  answered,  when  the  young  couple  are  in- 
terrupted by  the  entrance  of  Madame  Suzanne  Per- 
rique,  whose  grim  visage  has  the  smile  of  welcome  to 
additional  paying  guests. 

Even  as  she  comes  in,  she  is  speaking  with  business 
directness:  "You  wish  to  see  me  in  regard  to  apart- 
ments, I  presume."  Then  her  eyes  rest  on  the  young 
lady  and  a  smile  of  recognition  passes  over  her  grim 
face,  while  the  bride,  with  a  start  of  dismay,  shud- 


20  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

ders  to  herself:  "Good  heavens,  my  terrible  old 
schoolmistress !" 

"Why,  Gcorgina  Fortescue!"  ejaculates  Madame 
Perrique.  "How  is  your  respected  uncle?" 

To  this,  her  former  pupil,  giving  a  schoolgirl 
curtsy,  stammers:  "Oh,  Mrs.  Perkins,  he's  very  well, 

but  I "  Then  a  horrified  thought  flashes  through 

her.  "If  I  confess  to  her  my  runaway  marriage, 
she's  sure  to  telegraph  my  uncle!" 

Noting  a  look  of  inquiry  upon  Jack's  face,  Ma- 
dame Perrique  observes:  "I  gave  up  my  boarding 
school  six  months  ago,  just  after  you  were  taken 
away,  Georgina,  and  am  now  in  charge  of  this 
pension." 

"But  you — you  used  to  be  Mrs.  Perkins !"  ejacu- 
lates the  girl. 

"For  business  purposes,"  replies  the  ex-school- 
mistress, "I  have  given  my  name  a  French  flavor. 
Eemember,  Georgina,  I  am  now  Madame  Perrique." 
Then  turning  her  eyes  inquiringly  upon  the  bride- 
groom, she  remarks:  "This  gentleman  is  your — your 
brother,  of  course,  Georgina,  alone  at  this  time  in 
the  evening  with  you." 

"Yes — yes,  of — of  course,  my — my  brother  Jack," 
stemmers  the  bride.  For  into  her  mind  has  flown : 
"Good  heavens,  if  my  old  schoolmistress  knows  I 


'A  PEINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  91 

am  on  a  surreptitious  honeymoon,  my  London  uncle 
will  be  informed  of  my  elopement  like  a  flash." 

Upon  this  interview  the  young  husband  has  looked 
with  a  rather  perplexed  air.  But  Suzanne  interrupts 
Mr.  Jack  Horton's  meditations  by  saluting  him  with 
a  prim  curtsy  and  remarking:  "Mr.  Jack  Fortescue, 
I  am  happy  to  make  your  acquaintance/' 

"Oh — ah — yes,  of  course,  how  do  you  do?"  replies 
the  astonished  Jack,  giving  her  a  hasty  bow.  He 
would  now  probably  explain  his  relationship  to 
Georgina  did  not  a  frantic  pinch  from  his  bride 
suggest  some  new  complication  in  their  elopement. 

"Your  sister,  as  you  know,  was  for  six  years  un- 
der my  charge.  I  shall  be  happy  to  receive  her 
again,"  observes  Madame  Perrique,  briefly. 

At  this  there  is  an  affrighted :  "No,  no !"  from  the 
bride,  who  remembers  the  severe  regime  of  her  ex- 
schoolmistress. 

But  she  is  silenced  by  the  landlady  remarking 
sternly :  "Georgina !" 

At  this  word,  her  few  months'  absence  from  the 
martinet's  rule  seems  to  be  nothing,  and  the  child- 
like bride  drops  a  little  curtsy  and  stammers  tim- 
idly: "Yes,  ma'am" — such  is  the  force  of  habit. 

Apparently  thinking  the  young  lady  should  have 
no  voice  in  the  matter,  Madame  Perrique  is  now 


22  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

addressing  Georgina's  husband,  saying:  "Mr.  Fortes- 
cue,  you  wish  to  take  rooms  with  your  sister  at  this 
pension  ?" 

"Not  for  myself,  but  I  wish  to  secure  a  quiet  home 
for  her,  as  I  am  compelled  to  make  a  iapid  journey 
to  Cannes,"  replies  Jack,  looking  at  his  watch  and 
reflecting  that  he  has  none  too  many  minutes  to  catch 
the  Lyons  night  express. 

"There  could  be  no  safer  place  for  her  in  Paris," 
observes  the  ex-schoolmistress.  "No  young  girl  in 
my  house  has  any  chance  to  flirt  with  gentlemen." 

Remembering  the  number  of  men  about  the 
premises,  Jack  replies  cordially:  "Magnificent  idea, 
Madame  Perrique;  magnificent  idea!  This  is  just 
the  home  for  her." 

"Oh,  Jack !"  utters  Georgina  reproachfully. 

But  Jack,  thinking  of  the  long  mustached  dandies 
lounging  in  evening  dress  about  the  smoking-room  as 
they  passed  it  by,  continues:  "I  thoroughly  agree 
with  you,  Madame  Perrique,  in  prohibiting  all  flir- 
tation." 

"I  couldn't  think  of  taking  her  without  having 
full  authority,"  replies  Suzanne,  assuming  a  school- 
mistress air. 

"Oh,  mercy !"  flutters  the  newly-made  Mrs.  Horton. 

But  Madame  Perrique,  turning  to  the  young  hus- 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  23 

band,  who  is  wondering  whether  his  bride  will  be 
happy  with  this  prim-visaged  old  gentlewoman,  drives 
all  thought  except  jealousy  out  of  the  bridegroom's 
head,  by  observing :  "You  see,  when  she  was  at  school 
under  me,  Georgina  had  a  habit — of  course,  I  can 
be  frank  to  her  brother?" 

"Certainly;  very  frank!"  Jack's  eyes  have  grown 
big  and  he  is  grimly  prodding  his  boot  with  his  um- 
brella. 

As  for  the  bride,  she  is  confusedly  wondering  to 
herself:  "What  girlish  escapade  is  she  going  to  tell 
him?" 

"Your  sister  had  such  a  habit  of  attracting  the 
eyes  of  men,"  remarks  Madame  Perrique,  reflectively. 

"Indeed !"  exclaims  the  boyish  husband  severely, 
at  this  unpleasant  revelation. 

But  the  bride  breaks  in :  "Not  intentionally,  Jack ; 
not  intentionally!" 

"I  am  afraid  not  always  wn-intentionally,"  ob- 
serves the  ex-schoolmistress.  "Several  times  was  I 
compelled  to  lecture  her,  and  twice,  I  believe,  to  pun- 
ish her  for  accepting  bouquets  thrown  in  at  the  win- 
dow by  a  handsome  stockbroker  who  lived  opposite." 

This  revelation  of  a  sister's  infirmity  has  a  terrible 
effect  upon  the  putative  brother,  who  mutters  to  him- 
self :  "Damnation !"  and  clenches  his  hand. 


24  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Three  times  also  for  sending  out  written  com- 
munications  " 

"But  they  were  only  notes  to  buy  candy!"  half 
screams  the  bride. 

"Addressed  to  an  unknown  but  very  handsome 
man,  if  I  recollect  the  name,  called  Gaspard." 

"Gaspard !  Hell's  fire !  Gaspard  I"  snarls  Jack, 
under  his  breath.  Then  he  turns  jealous  eyes  upon 
his  fluttering  bride  and,  unmollified  by  her  pretty 
pouts,  remarks  severely:  "You — you  have  my  full 
authority,  Madame  Perrique.  Take  complete  charge 
of  her  during  my  absence — no  flirtations !" 

"My  terms  are  one  hundred  and  fifty  francs  a 
•week.  I'll  order  the  luggage  sent  up,"  and  the  land- 
lady leaves  the  reception  room. 

The  door  has  no  sooner  closed  behind  her  than 
Georgina  throws  herself  into  her  husband's  arms, 
whispering  indignantly:  "Jack,  Jack,  don't  you  dare 
believe  her!"  A  little  sob  comes  into  her  voice  as 
she  explains :  "Gaspard  was  the  beau  of  an  American 
scholar,  Gertie  Hammond,  not  my  sweetheart!" 

"Then  why  did  you  not  deny  it?"  returns  the 
bridegroom  savagely. 

"How  could  I?"  falters  the  bride.  'Tinder  Per- 
kins' awful  eyes  I  felt  as  if  I  were  in  her  schoolroom 
again."  Then  she  half  pouts,  half  laughs:  "Now 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  25 

with  your  authority  as  my  brother,  I  shall  be  kept 
close  as  a  convent  girl  till  you  come  back.  I  shan't 
have  a  bit  of  fun."  She  stamps  her  foot  petulantly. 

"Not  flirtatious  fun,"  sneers  Mr.  Jack,  who,  boy- 
like,  has  grown  suddenly  jealous.  "I'm  glad  I'm 
leaving  you  under  such  a  firm  woman." 

"Oh,  I'm  afraid  you  only  half  believe  me,"  ut- 
ters Georgina,  piteously,  "when  I  made  such  sacrifices 
to  become  your  wife." 

"Then  why  didn't  you  tell  Madame  Perrique  you 
were  my  wife?"  asks  Jack  in  sudden  and  savage 
suspicion. 

"Oh,  my  Heaven,  you  reproach  me  for  that.  Why, 
can't  you  see,  I  didn't  dare  to,  Stupid.  I  was  trem- 
bling all  the  time  for  fear  Suzanne's  argus  eyes 
would  see  my  wedding  ring  through  my  glove.  My 
ex-schoolmistress  would  have  immediately  tele- 
graphed my  uncle  that  I  was  eloping  with  you.  Then 
he  would  have  notified  your  aunt,  and  then — Oh, 
Jack,  I've  got  to  take  off  my  wedding  ring."  With 
teary  eyes  and  a  long-drawn  sigh,  Georgina  hastily 
pulls  off  her  glove  and  withdraws  from  her  slight 
finger  the  golden  band  of  marriage.  "What  shall  I 
do  with  it,  Jack?  If  Perriqu6  sees  it,  she'll  suspect, 
inquire  and  discover  everything,  and " 

"Give  it  to  me,"  says  Jack,  promptly,  and  slips 


26  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  QAEEET 

the  ring  into  his  pocket.  "Likewise  your  wedding 
certificate." 

"Yes,  she's  certain  to  go  through  my  trunks/'  fal- 
ters young  Mrs.  Horton,  surrendering  the  prized 
document.  "She's  the  most  prying  thing  in  the 
whole  world.  And  now  since  I  make  such  sacrifices 
for  you  so  that  you  can  break  the  matter  to  your 
aunt  at  the  proper  time,  you — you  must  believe  in 
me,"  and  the  childlike  bride  puts  her  graceful  arms 
about  her  young  husband's  neck. 

"Of  course,  I  believe,"  answers  Jack,  kissing  her 
rapturously.  "I  believe  you're  the  most  attractive 
sweetheart  in  the  world  and  I  want  to  keep  you  very 
— very  safe  while  I'm  absent." 

"Oh,  if  that's  the  way  you  feel  about  it,  Suzanne 
can  keep  me  close  as  a  nun,"  replies  Georgina  de- 
voted^ and  favors  Jack  with  caresses  that  make 
him  think  his  few  days'  absence  from  her  will  be  an 
eternity. 

But  he  forces  himself  to  assume  a  courageous  mien 
and  whispers  encouragingly:  "It's  only  for  a  week, 
darling.  You  have  enough  money,  haven't  you  ?" 

"Yes,  Jack,  plenty.  I — I  shan't  eat  many  bon- 
bons while — while  you're  away."  The  tears  are  com- 
ing very  close  to  the  blue  eyes  at  thought  of  parting. 
"You'll— you'll  write  to  me  often?" 


"A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  27 

"Every  day,  darling/' 

"But  be  sure  to  make  them  brotherly  letters,  for 
Perkins  will  try  to  inspect  my  correspondence  in 
some  way.  She  always  did  at  school,"  suggests  the 
young  lady  cautiously. 

"Certainly,  mine  shall  be  the  epistles  of  an  ardent 
brother,"  half  laughs  the  young  husband.  "Besides, 
I'll  telegraph  you  immediately  I  arrive  in  Cannes." 

"Yes,  but  don't  fail  to  sign  it  Jack  Fortescue,  or 
Perkins  will  discover  you  are  not  my  brother." 

"Oh,  I'll  simply  sign  it  Jack.  You  understand 
what  Jack  means,  don't  you?"  The  young  fellow's 
voice  is  very  uxorious. 

"Yes,  Jack  means  my  husband!"  whispers  the 
bride  simply  but  tenderly,  and  puts  up  her  dewy 
lips  for  another  kiss  which  she  receives  with  young 
Horton's  whole  soul. 

At  this  moment,  Madame  Perrique,  entering  ab- 
ruptly, says  affably:  "You  seem  very  affectionate  to 
your  brother,  Georgina." 

"I  am!"  cries  the  girl,  enthusiastically.  "Oh, 
there  never  was  such  a  brother !"  and  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  situation,  she  gives  Jack  several  addi- 
tional sweet  kisses,  murmuring :  "Darling,  sweet  one." 
These  are  returned  with  interest,  as  her  bride- 
groom lards  his  caresses  with:  "Honey  Bird!  Love 


28  rA  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

Note!  Beauty  Dove!"  emphasizing  each  of  thes« 
pretty  appellations  with  a  most  impassioned  caress. 

"Humph,  a  most  affectionate  brother!"  remarks 
the  ex-schoolmistress.  She  glances  at  the  clock  and 
suggests:  "But  if  you  wish  to  catch  the  Mediter- 
ranean night  express,  }7ou  will  have  to  tell  your 
hackman  to  drive  in  a  hurry." 

"I'll  go  to  the  door  with  you/'  falters  Georgina, 
and  Madame  Perrique  sees  the  girl  run  out  to  her 
portals  with  the  young  man,  and  give  him  another 
kiss  and  hears  her  whisper:  "Telegraph  me,  Jack; 
telegraph  me." 

Then  the  young  man  cries  to  the  cocker:  "Oare 
Mazas,  in  a  hurry !" 

As  he  gets  in  the  cab,  his  bride,  returning  to  the 
reception  room,  runs  to  the  window,  looks  eagerly 
out  and  whispers  piteously:  "Oh,  he's  driving  off. 
It's  too  dark  to  see  him ;  Jack !"  Then  the  poor  girl 
f alteringly  sinks  down  in  a  chair ;  in  her  mind  only : 
"He's  gone — Jack — my  husband !"  as  she  puts  her 
hand  to  her  swimming  eyes. 

Looking  upon  her  new  charge's  emotion,  Madame 
Perrique  reflects :  "The  most  affectionate  brother  and 
sister  I've  ever  seen."  Anxious  to  return  to  her 
other  duties,  she  says  abruptly:  "Georgina!" 

But  receiving  no  answer,  for  the  bride  is  think- 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  29 

ing  despairingly:  "What  shall  I  do  till  Jack  comes 
back?"  Madame  Perrique  calls  out  sharply:  "Miss 
Fortescue !"  and  places  her  hand  authoritatively  upon 
the  delicate  shoulder  that  is  throbbing  with  the 
misery  of  separation. 

"Oh — ah — yes — you  mean  me!"  gasps  Georgina, 
starting  up. 

"Whom  else  can  I  mean,  my  dear?"  answers  her 
old  schoolmistress.  "That's  your  name,  isn't  it?" 

"Oh,  yes,  that's — yes — of  course,  that's  my  name," 
falters  young  Mrs.  Horton. 

"Then  dry  your  eyes  and  I'll  show  you  up  to  a 
nice  little  room  T  have  for  you." 

Some  minutes  after  this  as  Madame  Perrique  con- 
ducts Georgina  through  the  main  hallway  towards 
the  staircase,  Suzanne's  acute  eyes  grow  astonished 
at  the  sensation  her  new  charge  makes. 

Though  a  good  many  of  Madame  Perrique's  gen- 
tlemen guests,  tired  of  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the 
young  lady  they  have  been  asking  Alphonse  about, 
have  wandered  off  to  the  theatres,  cafes  chantants 
and  other  evening  amusements  of  the  capital,  enough 
are  left  behind  to  produce  extreme  wonderment  in 
the  ex-schoolmistress'  mind.  These  lounge  about  the 
hall.  Striving  to  attract  the  attention  of  her  falter- 
ing charge,  Hadji  Pacha,  the  Turk,  salaams  rever- 


30  A  TRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

ently,  placing  his  hand  upon  his  heart  and  rolling 
his  eyes  as  if  one  of  the  houris  of  Mohammed's 
heaven  were  before  them.  The  Greek  diplomatist, 
Monsieur  Acropolis,  bows  to  the  carpet  before  Geor- 
gina,  while  several  other  gallants  of  the  boulevards 
stroke  their  moustachios  in  their  Parisian  way  and 
with  their  eyes  express  extraordinary  emotional  in- 
tensity and  fervid  gallantry  as  if  the  young  lady 
who  had  entered  Madame  Perrique's  portals  was  a 
being  who  had  on  the  instant  excited  in  their  Gallic 
minds  sudden  and  overpowering  passion. 

These  unexpected  attentions  seem  not  altogether 
unpleasing  to  the  bride,  for  Georgina  has  a  fairly 
good  opinion  of  her  personal  charms  and  perhaps  has 
indulged  in  a  few  of  the  flirtations  her  former  in- 
structress had  charged  her  with. 

But  though  the  girl  in  her  light,  pretty  costume 
looks  very  diffidently  attractive  and  encounters  mas- 
culine eyes  with  a  childlike  innocence  and  grace  that 
is  extremely  winning,  Madame  Perrique  can  see  no 
reason  for  such  an  abrupt  outburst  of  masculine 
devotion. 

Eeflecting  upon  this,  Suzanne,  as  she  escorts  her 
charge  upstairs,  is  suddenly  struck  by  a  curious  idea. 
Never  before  has  she  seen  such  an  extraordinary  dis- 
play of  Gallic  rapture  for  any  of  her  lady  boarders, 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  31 

and  she  has  had  some  quite  pretty,  exceedingly 
charming,  and  very  flirtatious  ones  during  her  short 
experience.  To  herself  she  remarks :  "These  men  all 
seem  to  have  the  girl-hunting  madness  in  them.  If 
I  want  a  quiet  life  with  Georgina,  I've  got  to  put  a 
stop  to  it — sharply,  too !" 

Consequently,  they  have  no  sooner  arrived  at  the 
little  chamber  set  apart  for  the  putative  maiden  than 
she  says  abruptly:  "Now,  my  child,  put  on  some 
plainer  frock  before  you  return  downstairs." 

"Why,  this  is  the  very  simplest  I  have  in  my 
trunk,"  remarks  Georgina,  proud  of  a  hurriedly  pur- 
chased trousseau. 

"Then  you  must  have  a  most  extraordinary  out- 
fit for  a  child  like  you,"  replies  Perrique,  abruptly. 
"Rigged  out  in  this  bride-like,  precocious  affair,  you 
will  have  half  the  men  in  the  house  running  after 
you.  You  remember  your  brother's  instructions  to 
me.  You  don't  suppose  he  would  be  pleased  if  you 
had  half  a  dozen  love  affairs  with  those  rather  pre- 
suming gentlemen  downstairs." 

"Yes,  I'm — I'm  very  sure  Jack  wouldn't  like 
that,"  mutters  the  bride  with  a  muffled  giggle. 

"Imagine  how  your  brother  would  reproach  me  if 
he  discovered  you  were  entangled  with  that  Turk  who 
looked  at  you  as  if  he  would  like  to  make  you  one 


32  'A  'PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

of  his  harem,  or  engaged  to  marry  that  stolid  Ger- 
man, who  whispered,  "Ach,  Himmel,  meine  a/nge- 
betete  Gottin." 

"No,  Jack  would  knock  the  German's  head  off," 
half  laughs,  half  shudders,  Georgina. 

"That  being  the  case,"  answers  Suzanne  in  affable 
primness,  "a  proper  toilette  will  show  these  men  that 
you  are  altogether  too  juvenile  for  their  attentions. 
Now  we  will  soon  have  you  in  one  of  your  old  school 
frocks/' 

"Old  school  frocks  I"  jeers  the  bride.  "Where  shall 
I  get  them?" 

"You  carelessly  left  some  of  them  behind  you  when 
you  were  taken  away  from  my  academy." 

"Oh,  murder !"  screams  Georgina,  mentally.  Then 
remembering  she  had  been  in  short  frocks  when 
she  left  Mrs.  Perkins'  pension,  she  queries  anxiously : 
"But  you  didn't  Tceep  them?" 

"Being  an  economical  woman,  I  keep  everything," 
remarks  Madame  Perrique.  "In  one  of  them  you  will 
not  attract  the  attention  of  my  gentlemen  boarders. 
Do  up  your  hair  in  a  modest  pig-tail." 

"A  modest  pig-tail!"  echoes  Georgina  defiantly. 
"I  shall  look  like  a  child." 

"As  you  are!" 

But  these  words  have  a  very  unpleasant  effect 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  33 

upon  the  new-made  bride.  She  picks  up  her  purse 
from  the  table  and  remarks  self-assertively :  "Under 
the  circumstances,  Madame  Perriqu6,  I  think  I  will 
leave  your  house  and  go  to  a  hotel."  But  her  nascent 
rebellion  is  suddenly  destroyed,  as  she  opens  her 
pocket  book  she  utters  with  a  gasp  of  dismay :  "Why, 
you  have  taken  my  money!" 

"All  except  ten  francs,"  replies  the  landlady,  "the 
balance  that  was  left  after  paying  your  two  weeks 
board  bill  of  three  hundred  francs.  Besides,  I  shall 
not  permit  you  to  leave  my  house — your  brother  hav- 
ing placed  you  in  my  charge."  Then  some  curious 
suspicion  entering  the  acute  schoolmistress'  mind,  her 
grey  eyes  seem  to  gaze  through  the  bride  as  she  ter- 
rifies Georgina  into  submission  by  querying:  "He's 
your  brother,  isn't  he?" 

"Certainly,  he's — he's  my  brother,"  falters  young 
Mrs.  Horton.  "My  brother  Jack — didn't  I  tell 
you?" 

"Then,  armed  with  his  authority,  I  shall  do  my 
duty  by  you.  I  consider  you  as  much  under  my  rule 
as  when  you  left  my  school  six  months  ago,  child. 
When  you  have  made  a  proper  toilette  for  a  young 
girl,  come  to  me  in  the  parlor.  There  you  can  play 
on  the  piano  and  help  me  entertain  my  guests.  Girl's 
spirits,  my  dear,  and  youthful  innocence,"  observes 


34  A  PRINCE  IN  THE'GAREET 

the  ex-maitresse  d'ecole,  blandly,  "but  no  flirtations 
— remember  that !" 

"Yes,  ma'am/'  sighs  Georgina,  feeling  quite  help- 
less and  schoolgirly  with  so  little  money  in  her 
pocket,  alone  in  Paris. 

"Your  old  nurse,  Madelon,  who  acts  as  my  maid, 
will  come  in  to  assist  you/'  continues  Suzanne, 
blandly. 

"Oh,  mercy,  that  hateful  old  Madelon  will  make 
me  look  like  a  baby,"  half-giggles  Georgina  as 
Suzanne  departs  from  her.  Then  the  poor  bride 
smites  her  hands  together  and  mutters:  "Well,  if 
this  isn't  the  most  disappointing  elopement  I  ever 
saw !"  and,  gazing  ruefully  upon  her  traveling 
trunk  containing  her  tabooed  trousseau,  utters  two 
little  hysterical  cries  and  sheds  half  a  dozen  savage 
tears. 

Just  at  this  moment,  Madame  Perrique,  after  a 
few  hasty  directions  to  Madelon,  reaches  the  head  of 
the  stairway  to  descend  to  her  guests.  Here,  chanc- 
ing to  glance  down  at  her  salon  filled  with  lounging 
Adams,  the  landlady  pauses,  starts  and  reflects: 
"Every  other  boarding  house  about  me  deserted  and 
mine  full  of  men  with  girl-hunting  eyes.  I  know 
those  facial  expressions.  I've  seen  them  in  gallants 
wandering  round  the  walls  of  my  school  in  the  Rue 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GAERET  35 

du  Eocher.     What  girl  do  they  hunt?    What  is  the 
reason  of  their  pursuit?" 

Then  a  wild  yell  of  laughter  in  a  familiar  voice 
ascending  to  her  ears  from  her  dining-room,  Suzanne 
suddenly  clenches  her  fists  and  ejaculates:  "My  God, 
it  is  some  eccentricity  of  that  villain  Ambigue  I" 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE   CURIOUS   BOARDING   HOUSE  IN  THE   RUE   DE 
PROVENCE. 

Descending  her  staircase  and  hearing  another  wild 
burst  of  laughter  and  the  further  clinking  of  glasses 
in  her  dining-room,  Madame  Perrique  mutters  fran- 
tically to  herself:  "That  fiend  Ambigue  is  drinking 
me  up  alive.  Will  that  demon  never  leave  the  dining- 
room  ?"  Calling  Alphonse  to  her,  she  directs :  "Clear 
up  the  dinner  table  as  quickly  as  possible." 

"Yes,  ma'am,"  replies  the  waiter  briskly.  "That's 
easily  done.  The  guests  have  already  cleaned  it  so 
a  fly  would  starve  on  it." 

"Have  they?"  snarls  the  boarding  house  mistress. 
"Then  they  will  probably  starve  at  breakfast."  With 
this  she  commands:  "Tell  Ambigue  that  I  wish  to 
see  him  in  the  reception-room,"  to  which  place  she 
departs,  a  very  austere  look  on  her  prim  old  face. 

The  waiter  is  about  to  do  her  bidding  when  he  is 
approached  by  a  gentleman  in  immaculate  evening 
dress,  the  broad  rolling  velvet  collar  of  his  coat  and 

36 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  37 

his  tight  pantaloons  apparently  cut  by  the  best  Pa- 
risian tailors. 

To  the  gargon  the  young  man  announces  haugh- 
tily: "I  am  le  Comte  de  Pichoir." 

"Ah,  Monsieur  le  Comte,"  and  the  waiter  bows 
obsequiously  as  he  recognizes  a  name  of  the  old 
noblesse. 

"I  have  a  complaint  to  make,"  utters  the  young 
noble  gloomily.  "I  sat  down  to  dinner;  I  got  none. 
The  man  who  sat  next  to  me  ate  mine  and,  diahle, 
everyone  else's.  He  has  an  appetite  like  a  steam 
engine.  He  creates  a  famine." 

"Ah,  yes ;  I  know  him,"  answers  Alphonse  briskly. 
"He's  Moliere  Shakespeare  Ambigue,  the  dramatist.'* 

"Then  Moliere  Shakespeare  Ambigue,  the  drama- 
tist, must  not  sit  by  me  at  dinner  again.  I  will  be 
starved  no  more." 

"In  that  case  Monsieur  will  have  to  go  to  another 
boarding  house,"  observes  Alphonse,  stifling  a  giggle. 

"Morbleu,  this  is  the  pension  I  wish,"  answers  the 
young  man  imperatively.  Lowering  his  voice,  he 
continues:  "Alphonse,  I  have  a  question  to  ask." 

"del,  this  is  the  twenty-first,"  reflects  the  waiter. 

"You  can  tell  me  whether  a  young  American  lady 
lives  in  this  house  ?" 

"I  can,"  answers  Alphonse  eagerly. 


38  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Thank  you,"  replies  the  Count. 

"Thank  you,"  suggests  the  servitor,  holding  out 
an  eager  hand. 

"For  what?"  observes  the  young  Parisian  va- 
cantly. 

"For  the  money  Monsieur  was  ahout  to  give  me/* 

"Ah,  I  understand — of  course,  here  is  a  pour 
T)oire,"  and  the  Count,  pulling  out  a  not  very  well 
filled  portemonnaie,  hands  him  a  couple  of  francs. 
"You  said  you  could  tell  me  if  an  American  lady 
lives  here.  The  American  I  refer  to  is  young  and 
poor." 

"Poor?"  giggles  the  gargon.  "You  don't  know 
Madame  Perrique.  Her  charges  prevent  any  poor 
people  coming  into  her  house."  Then  Alphonse  asks 
curiously:  "Monsieur  le  Comte,  the  name  of  this 
lady?" 

"Mademoiselle  Gertrude  Hammond,  of  Missesseep 
in  Amerique,"  is  the  unhesitating  reply.  "Do  you 
know  her  ?" 

"Know  her?     I  know  her  intimately." 

"del!"  cries  Henri  joyfully. 

"By  reputation,"  answers  the  waiter.  "She  hasn't 
arrived." 

"Then  you  expect  her  ?" 

"Nearly  everyone  in  the  house  expects  her." 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  39 

"Aha,  I  am  a  distant  relative." 

"The  twenty-first  distant  relative,"  muses  the 
dazed  waiter. 

"I  am  here  to  meet  her,"  continues  Henri.  "Notify 
me  immediately  when  Mademoiselle  arrives,"  and 
the  Count  turns  haughtily  away. 

"I  will,"  cries  Alphonse,  striding  after  him,  "I 
will  give  you  this  signal — three  taps  on  the  back — 
comprenez?"  and  he  favors  Henri  with  the  same 
signal  he  had  given  to  twenty  other  men. 

But  as  Alphonse  is  in  the  act  of  doing  this,  the 
Count  steps  rapidly  into  the  hallway,  murmuring: 
"A  noise  at  the  front  door — can  it  be  she  ?" 

Looking  after  him,  the  waiter  chuckles :  "My  twen- 
ty-first signal.  They're  all  the  same,  so  I  can't  make 
a  mistake.  Sapristi,  there  will  be  trouble  in  this 
house  when  Mademoiselle  Gertrude  Hammond  of 
Missesseep  arrives."  He  smiles  again  as  a  couple 
of  servitors  carrying  some  trunks  placarded  in  large 
letters,  "A.  de  M.,"  pass  through  the  hall.  These 
are  followed  by  several  gentlemen,  among  them  the 
Turk  and  the  Greek,  inspecting  the  luggage  with 
very  careful  eyes. 

"Didble,  they  think  that  is  the  baggage  of  Made- 
moiselle Gertrude  Hammond,"  laughs  the  waiter. 

But  he  is  interrupted  by  the  Count  returning  to 


40  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

him  and  saying  gloomily:  "A — 'A'  doesn't  stand  for 
Gertrude,  and  'M'  doesn't  indicate  Hammond.  Whose 
trunks  are  those?" 

"That's  part  of  the  baggage  of  Armande  de  Mille- 
fleurs." 

"Oh,  the  leading  lady  of  the  Theatre  Cluny," 
remarks  the  Count. 

"Yes,  to-day  she  engaged  the  best  apaiiment  in 
the  house.  She  will  arrive  immediately  after  the 
performance  this  evening.  This  is  the  first  install- 
ment of  her  luggage." 

"Ah,  yes,"  observes  the  young  boulevardier  in  un- 
interested nonchalance,  "the  greatest  coquette  in 
all  Paris,"  and  goes  disaj,*  ointedly  away. 

"Now  I'll  see  if  I  caiu- .„  get  a  chance  at  the  din- 
ing-table  and  deliver  Madame  Perrique's  message  to 
Ambigue,"  thinks  the  waiter. 

He  is  about  to  leave  the  main  salon,  when  he  is 
interrupted  by  an  imploring  voice  saying  in  timid 
tones:  "Madame  Perrique;  where  are  you,  Madame 
Perrique  ?" 

Glancing  at  the  owner  of  the  voice,  Alphonse,  who 
knows  everything  that  goes  on  in  the  house,  remarks 
placidly  to  himself :  "Oho,  our  new  child  boarder." 

The  adolescent  bride's  appearance  justifies  his  ob- 
servation. 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  41 

Under  the  hands  of  Madelon,  young  Mrs.  Horfon 
has  been  transformed  into  a  demure  schoolgirl. 
With  her  hair  braided  into  a  luxuriant  pig-tail  that 
reaches  below  her  slight  waist  and  dressed  in  one  of 
her  old  school  frocks  which  had  been  short  six 
months  before,  but  is  now,  by  reason  of  her  continued 
growth,  sufficiently  abbreviated  to  display  not  only 
two  high-laced,  high-heeled  bottines  tasseled  after 
the  manner  of  the  time,  but  also  some  inches  of  tight 
white  silk  stockings,  Georgina  seems  quite  juvenile 
enough  to  be  still  in  the  school-room.  A  timid 
though  pouting  agitation  adds  to  her  a  childlike 
appearance. 

Thinking  that  the  pout  '  ^icates  hunger,  Alphonse 
stops  up  to  her  and  says  politely:  "Calm  yourself, 
petite;  would  you  like  some  bread  and  milk?" 

"No!"  answers  Georgina  with  an  angry  stamp  of 
her  little  foot. 

"Oh!"  remarks  Alphonse,  and  quietly  withdraws. 

While  young  Mrs.  Horton  half  sobs :  "Bread  and 
milk!  Cracky,  what  a  metamorphosis.  Half  an 
hour  ago  a  bride  and  now  a  chit.  Oh,  isn't  it  ter- 
rible, I  can't  tell  my  horrible  old  schoolmistress  that 
I'm  Jack's  wife,"  and  sinks  droopingly  into  an  arm- 
chair. 

Her  brown  study  is  so  distracting  that  the  young 


42  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

lady  doesn't  notice  that  her  entry  has  produced  a 
sensation  among  the  gentlemen  guests.  A  French 
officer  who  has  just  returned  from  Louis  Napoleon's 
unfortunate  Mexican  expedition  pulls  a  long  zouave 
moustache  complacently  over  his  lips  and  pushes 
back  the  short  dark  hair  from  his  forehead  to  dis- 
play a  scar  he  had  received  at  Orizaba,  thinking  his 
martial  appearance  will  help  him  with  the  young  lady. 

About  this  time  the  Count  de  Pichoir,  hearing  a 
girl's  voice  with  Anglo-Saxon  accent,  saunters  into 
the  salon,  and  assumes  a  romantic  position;  while 
Hadji  Pacha,  murmuring:  "Mashallcih,  perhaps  it  is 
she/'  enters  from  the  smoking-room,  sighs,  bows  and 
takes  a  pose  of  Ottoman  devotion. 

In  a  moment  these  gallants  would  be  clustering 
around  the  youthful  Georgina,  whose  sitting  position 
does  not  disclose  the  juvenile  brevity  of  her  skirts, 
did  not  Madame  Perrique,  coming  in  briskly  from 
her  reception-room,  interrupt  their  attentions. 

"So  she's  up  to  her  old  tricks  again — getting  the 
eyes  of  every  man  upon  her,"  reflects  the  ex-school- 
mistress, severely.  Raising  her  voice,  ^he  cries 
sharply:  "Georgina!" 

But  the  bride's  thoughts  are  far  away.  She  is 
sighing  mentally:  "Oh,  Jack,  my  Jack!  I'm  so 
lonely." 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  43 

•     "Qeorgina  Fortescue!" 

"Oh — ah — yes/'  stammers  young  Mrs.  Horton. 
"Of  course,  that's  my  name." 

Anxious  to  stop  the  sudden  and  ardent  admiration 
of  her  masculine  guests  for  her  protege,  the  land- 
lady says  abruptly:  "Gentlemen,  this  is  a  child, 
Georgina  Fortescue,  who  was  under  my  charge  once 
as  a  schoolmistress  and  has  now  been  placed  in  my 
care  again,"  and  discovers  to  her  astonishment  that 
her  words  have  an  immediate  and  potent  effect. 

The  Count  turns  nonchalantly  away  with  a  men- 
tal: "Viable!" 

The  Turkish  Pacha  is  about  to  retire  to  the  smok- 
ing-room, murmuring:  "Bislimillah,  disappoint- 
ment," and  the  officer  from  Mexico  seems  to  have 
no  further  interest  in  the  fascinations  of  the  young 
lady. 

This  dearth  of  masculine  admiration  doesn't  seem 
to  affect  Georgina  very  greatly.  She  glances  dis- 
dainfully at  the  backs  of  her  swains,  reflecting  quite 
contentedly:  "Not  a  man  of  them  is  a  marker  to 
my  Jack." 

"Child,"  commands  Madame  Perrique  blandly, 
"come  with  me  into  the  music-room  and  show  the 
gentlemen  how  nicely  you  play  the  piano." 

"With  your  permission,  Madame,"  observes  Henri, 


44  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

bowing  indifferently,  "I  prefer  literature,"  and  pro- 
ducing a  copy  of  the  Figaro,  he  seats  himself  be- 
neath a  convenient  gas  light. 

The  sudden  change  of  front  in  her  guests  strikes 
Perrique  as  extremely  strange.  Anxious  to  discover 
its  reason,  she  suggests :  "Hadji  Pacha  and  Monsieur 
Acropolis,  my  pupil  will  be  very  pleased  to  play 
for  you  this  evening.  She  used  to  execute  quite 
well  'The  Heart  Bowed  Down/  " 

But  "The  Heart  Bowed  Down"  doesn't  seem  to 
appeal  to  the  Turk  or  the  Athenian,  who  follow 
Suzanne  and  her  charge  rather  sulkily,  though  Mon- 
sieur Acropolis,  who  has  a  Greek  eye  for  beauty, 
observes  that  the  child  boarder  under  her  simple 
muslin  frock  has  a  prettily  rounded  figure  and  that 
the  short  skirt,  as  it  sways  over  the  little  crinoline, 
discloses  two  exceedingly  graceful  and  well  developed 
ankles  for  one  so  young. 

Perhaps  noticing  his  glance,  young  Mrs.  Horton 
gives  furtively  one  or  two  ineffective  plucks  to 
lengthen  her  jupe  as  she  glides  into  the  music-room, 
though  she  pokes  out  her  tasseled  bottines  defiantly 
as  she  slouches  down  at  the  piano  and  performs 
"The  Heart  Bowed  Down"  with  such  agitated  vigor 
of  action  and  discordancy  of  tone  that  Madame  Per- 
riquS's  teeth  get  on  edge. 


rA  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  46 

But  this  produces  no  criticism  from  her  old  mis- 
tress, whose  mind  is  now  agitated  by  but  one  propo- 
sition: "Why  are  all  these  men  in  my  house?  If 
they  are  in  pursuit  of  a  girl,  it  is  evident  that 
Georgina  is  not  the  one."  Pondering  over  this,  as  hei 
ex-pupil  attacks  "The  Battle  of  Prague"  with  such 
frightful  effect  that  both  the  Turk  and  the  Greek 
sneak  quietly  out  of  the  room,  a  horrible  fear  now  en- 
ters Perrique's  mind :  "Is  there  anything  criminal  in 
the  matter  ?  Is  this  some  secret  meeting  like  the  Or- 
sini  bomb  conspirators  of  ten  years  ago  against  the 
Emperor  of  France,  or  some  conclave  of  those  red  cap 
agitators  under  the  seditious  Flourens?  If  so,  111 
find  myself  in  the  Mazas  prison  some  direful  day," 
shudders  Perrique. 

This  consideration  places  pallor  on  her  withered 
cheeks ;  and  oblivious  of  the  awful  imitation  of  Aus- 
trian cannon  with  which  the  bride  is  now  bombarding 
the  piano,  Suzanne  glides  trembling  away  to  the 
reception-room,  where  she  goes  into  a  nervous  and 
affrighted  revery,  muttering:  "If  it  is  that  devil 
Ambigue  ?" 

In  the  main  parlor,  however,  the  discordancy  of 
Georgina's  music  is  drowned  by  a  burst  of  hilarious 
laughter  rising  dominantly  from  the  dining-room. 

Folding  up  his  paper  with  a  snarl  and  stepping  to 


46  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

Alphonse,  Henri  demands  of  Alphonse :  "Who's  mak- 
ing that  infernal  din?" 

"Moliere  Shakespeare  Ambigne,  the  dramatist  of 
the  future/'  is  the  answer. 

"Diable,  then  we'll  reserve  him  for  the  future," 
grins  the  Count,  pleased  at  his  own  wit. 

"That's  what  the  world  has  already  done  for  poor 
Ambigue,"  observes  the  gar^on.  Anxious  to  be  con- 
sidered equally  brilliant,  he  continues:  "Permit  me 
to  tell  you,  Monsieur  le  Comte,  this  Ambigue  is  a 
great  man,  though  nobody  knows  it  except  me.  I've 
seen  him  up  in  his  garret  where  he  lives,  under  the 
eaves,  and  admire  him." 

"What  for?"  sneers  the  Count. 

"I  admire  him,  Monsieur,  as  he  puts  on  black 
stockings  to  conceal  the  holes  in  his  black  boots.  I 
admire  him  more  as  he  glues  black  sticking-plaster 
on  his  big  toes  to  hide  the  rents  of  his  black  stock- 
ings. I  admire  him  because  he  struts  as  if  the  earth 
were  beneath  his  feet  when  the  universe  is  on  top  of 
the  poor  devil  grinding  him  to  pieces." 

This  panegyric  has  been  listened  to  with  a  grin 
by  the  young  Comte  de  Pichoir ;  he  now  asks  sharply 
and  suspiciously:  "Then  how  the  deuce  did  Ambigue 
contrive  to  get  on  the  good  side  of  Perrique  ?" 

"He   didn't,"   answers  the  waiter   sadly.     "She's 


4  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  47 

going  to  turn  him  out  to-morrow — owes  four  months' 
board." 

"Sapristi,"  remarks  the  Count,  passing  his  hand 
over  his  forehead  dubiously,  'Tie  has  just  had  two 
bottles  of  wine  in  the  dining-room,  where  he  is  en- 
tertaining Paul  Eousette,  the  manager  of  the  The- 
atre Cluny." 

This  announcement  produces  an  extraordinary  ef- 
fect upon  Alphonse,  who  rolls  his  eyes  about  unbe- 
lievingly as  he  gasps:  "Ambigue,  the  dramatist,  had 
two  bottles  of  wine?" 

"Certainly;  two  bottles  of  Cliquot  of  the  best 
vintage." 

"Ambigue,  the  dramatist — two  bottles  of  Cli- 
quot ?"  The  waiter  almost  reels  with  surprise.  Then 
he  suddenly  exclaims:  "But  Madame  Perriqu6  re- 
fused them?" 

"She  did  not!" 

"Impossible !" 

The  glasses  below  are  still  clinking  and,  another 
burst  of  laughter  coming  to  their  ears,  Henri  sug- 
gests laughingly:  "There's  the  proof.  The  two  bot- 
tles are  coming  up  the  stairs." 

"No,  only  one  of  them,"  remarks  the  gargon,  as 
a  gentleman  of  perturbed  mien  hurriedly  enters  the 
room  and  leads  him  to  one  side. 


48  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

To  the  waiter  he  remarks:  "I  am  the  manager  of 
the  Theatre  Cluny.  I  have  many  free  tickets." 

"Aha !"  cried  the  gar$on  joyously. 

"One  word,  Alphonse;  I  wish  to  inquire  if  a 
young  American  girl — very  poor,"  continues  Kou- 
sette,  putting  his  hand  into  his  pocket  and  about 
to  produce  a  letter. 

"Never  mind  the  letter,"  says  Alphonse.  "I'll 
give  you  this  signal — three  taps  on  the  back." 

Perhaps  the  waiter's  jovial  manner  might  make 
Eousette  suspicious,  but  from  the  dining-room  is 
heard  a  laughing  yet  precise  Gallic  voice:  "Paul, 
where  are  you,  my  dear  boy?" 

"Mon  Dieu"  shudders  the  theatre  manager,  "that's 
the  man  who  insists  upon  reading  a  play  to  me." 

"Dicible,  if  Ambigue  insists  on  reading  a  play  to 
you,  it  is  read  to  you/'  grins  Alphonse. 

This  prediction  doesn't  seem  to  please  the  gen- 
tleman of  the  theatre,  who  says  rapidly:  "I  must  be 
going.  Notify  me  on  my  return  if  the  young  lady* 
has  arrived.  I  must  hurry  to  the  Boulevard  Saint 
Germain.  It  is  now  time  to  count  up  my  house," 
and  darts  out  of  the  front  door  scarce  waiting  to  put 
on  his  overcoat,  though  the  late  autumn  night  is 
now  tempestuous  and  cold,  there  being  a  little  snow 
in  the  air. 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  49 

As  the  street  door  closes  on  Rousette,  issuing  from 
the  dining-room  and  striding  along  the  main  cor- 
ridor is  Literature  in  pursuit.  Ambigue,  the  drama- 
tist of  the  future,  has  at  last  obtained  an  interview 
with  a  Parisian  manager  and  is  determined  to  make 
the  most  of  it. 

Appearances  indicate  he  needs  a  producer  for  his 
plays;  though  the  young  man  is  recklessly  buoyant 
and  insouciant,  his  extremely  neat  clothes  are  de- 
cidedly seedy.  His  tight-fitting,  brass-buttoned, 
swallow-tail  coat  is  suspiciously  brilliant  at  elbows 
and  collar  and  his  black  trousers,  that  look  as  if  his 
sturdy  legs  had  been  melted  and  moulded  into  them, 
shine  lustrously  at  the  knees.  After  the  manner  of 
the  time  they  are  strapped  tightly  over  lacquered 
boots,  whose  dilapidated  appearance  supports  Al- 
phonse's  description  of  the  young  dramatist's  toilet 
artifices. 

His  dark  eyes  sparkle  with  the  brilliancy  of  cham- 
pagne, he  brushes  his  short  black  hair  from  off  his 
high  forehead,  darts  in  pursuit  of  Rousette  along  the 
hallway,  and  would  probably  overtake  him  were  he 
not  confronted  by  his  landlady,  who  steps  out  of  her 
reception-room  for  the  purpose.  Her  vindictive 
glance  almost  frightens  him,  for  Madame  PerriquS, 
seeing  four  months'  unpaid  board  bills  before  her,  is 


50 

by  no  means  a  reassuring  sight  as  she  shrugs  her 
scrawny  shoulders  that  issue  from  her  evening  dress 
de  riguer  and  projecting  a  skinny  arm,  remarks :  "One 
word  with  you!" 

"Not  apparently  a  pleasant  one,"  grins  the  seedy 
hut  dashing  Moliere  as  with  dapper  steps  he  follows 
his  landlady  into  the  vacant  reception-room. 

Here,  closing  the  door  hehind  them,  Susanne  turns 
upon  him  and  remarks  in  menacing  tone :  "You  dis- 
graced my  house  at  dinner  to-day." 

"Yes,"  observes  Ambigue,  his  dark  eyes  growing 
sad  as  they  inspect  his  well  worn  footgear.  "I  shall 
soon  have  -to  borrow  another  pair  of  boots.  If  I  wear 
these  much  longer,  people  will  begin  to  imagine  that 
I  am  poor." 

"You  ate  for  two  hours  and  drank  two  bottles  of 
wine  at  dinner  to-day,"  says  his  landlady  uncom- 
promisingly. 

"When  a  man's  heart  is  breaking  he  must  do  some- 
thing to  kill  time."  The  Bohemian's  remark  en- 
rages his  hostess. 

"And  you  eat  to  kill  yours,"  sneers  Perrique'.  "I 
wish  I  had  better  to  offer  you." 

"I  wish  you  had,"  replies  Moliere,  sarcastically. 

"You  ate  enough,"  mutters  the  landlady  indig- 
nantly. 


A  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET  51 

"Yes,  thank  God,  in  all  my  misfortune  I  have  never 
yet  lost  my  appetite,"  cries  Ambigue  rapturously. 

At  this  Perrique  shudders:  "You  thank  God  be- 
cause you're  ruining  me !"  and,  wringing  her  hands, 
sinks  overcome  into  an  armchair. 

"It's  my  way  of  annihilating  defeat,  Madame — of 
showing  that  I  despise  fate." 

"Ah,  you  class  my  dinners  with  your  fate." 

"Both  to  me  are  equally  disgusting,"  observes  the 
dramatic  humorist,  and  immediately  sounds  the  bell. 

Alphonse,  who  is  anxious  to  see  what  is  going  on, 
now  steps  in  promptly  and  receives  the  nonchalant 
order:  "Apropos  of  dinner,  take  up  to  my  room  a 
bottle  of  Cliquot." 

"Of  course  not!"  breaks  in  Suzanne,  savagely. 

Producing  a  little  paper,  Ambigue  glances  at  her 
significantly,  and  she  stammers :  "Well,  then,  a  pint 
bottle." 

"A  quart  bottle!"  cries  Moliere. 

"You  must  be  drunk!"  ejaculates  his  landlady. 

"No,  but  I'm  going  to  be !"  says  the  dramatist  en- 
thusiastically. "Alphonse,  two  quart  bottles." 

"Did  I  hear  you  say  two?"  stammers  the  aston- 
ished landlady. 

"Xo,  you  were  mistaken,"  answers  Ambigue 
promptly.  "Alphonse,  three  bottles  of  'The  Widow' 
to  my  room  instantly." 


52 

"Alphonse,  you  will  not!"  Madame  Perrique's 
voice  is  dictatorial,  but  the  dramatist  taps  signifi- 
cantly his  paper,  and  she  falters :  "You  will  not  dis- 
obey Monsieur  Ambigue." 

"Monsieur  Ambigue — certainly  not/'  and  the 
waiter  withdraws;  but  his  chuckle  in  the  hall  drives 
his  mistress  almost  to  distraction. 

Her  mind  is  not  made  more  placid  by  Moliere  open- 
ing the  door  and  commanding  jauntily:  "A  box  of 
cigars  also.  Rousette  of  the  Theatre  Cluny  will 
listen  to  my  new  play,  and  we'll  make  a  night  of  it." 

Eeturning  with  a  step  made  airy  by  the  thought  of 
more  wine  and  good  cigars,  Moliere  Shakespeare  Am- 
bigue, the  dramatist  of  the  future,  is  confronted  by 
his  landlady,  who  says  in  a  hoarse  voice :  "You  are 
ruining  me,  and  you  leave  ray  house !" 

Closing  the  door  carefully  behind  him,  the  dashing 
bohemian  seats  himself  nonchalantly  and  remarks  in 
low  but  impressive  tone:  "I  am  making  your  for- 
tune, and  I  stay  here  as  long  as  I  diable  please.  You 
forget  this  paper !"  He  holds  up  a  little  memoran- 
dum. Then,  his  voice  becoming  sad,  pathetic,  yet  at 
times  passionate,  he  breaks  out  upon  her :  "For  four 
months  you  lodged  me  in  your  garret  and  let  me  feed 
at  your  table  because  I  played  the  jester  for  your 
guests.  Lately  there  were  very  few  boarders  for  your 


rA  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  53 

court  fool  to  amuse,  and  two  days  ago  you  come  to 
me  and  say:  'Arnbigue,  leave  my  house  and  starve 
in  the  street !'  And  I  say :  'Without  me  you  starve 
also.  Agree  in  writing  to  give  me  all  I  wish  as  long 
as  I  keep  your  house  full  of  boarders,  and  I  crowd 
your  domicile/  You  sign  the  bond,  and  to-day  your 
house  is  full.  Why  should  my  stomach  be  empty?" 

"You  didn't  fill  my  house  f"  ejaculates  Suzanne, 
unbelievingly.  "These  men's  actions  are  suspicious; 
sometimes  I  fear  that  there  is  crime  or  sedition  con- 
nected with  their  sudden  appearance.  Perhaps  it  is 
Flourens  and  his  band  of  Reds." 

At  this  Ambigue  breaks  into  a  sneering  laugh, 
rings  the  bell,  and  remarks:  "There  is  no  crime  in 
the  affair  but  these  men's  avaricious  hearts.  I  will 
prove  it  to  you." 

As  Alphonse,  who  has  been  trying  to  listen  at  the 
door,  enters  hurriedly,  the  man  of  letters  questions: 
"How  many  gentlemen  applied  for  rooms  to-day  ?" 

"Twenty-three,  Monsieur." 

"Each  of  the  twenty-three  had  a  letter  that  he  sur- 
reptitiously consulted  ?" 

"All,  Monsieur.     Their  manner  was  mysterious." 

"And  each  inquired  for  a  young  American  lady — 
very  poor?" 

"Each  did,  Monsieur." 


14  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"You  see,  Madame  Perrique,"  observes  Ambigue. 
As  the  waiter  is  about  to  withdraw,  he  continues  af- 
fably: "Alphonse,  you  are  a  good  boy.  Take  an- 
other bottle  of  'The  Widow'  and  drink  the  widow's — " 
he  bows  to  his  landlady — "and  my  health." 

"Didble!"  screams  the  garqon,  a  sudden  idea  flash- 
ing through  him.  Returning  to  them,  he  bows  to  the 
floor  and  says :  "Aha,  permit  my  humble  congratula- 
tions ;  you  are  going  to  marry  Madame." 

"Is  Alphonse  crazy!"  screams  Madame  Perrique. 

"No,  but  he  thinks  I  am !"  jeers  Ambigue. 

Contrasting  Suzanne's  scrawny  shoulders  and  fifty- 
year-old  face  with  the  debonair  bohemian's  flashing 
eyes  and  youthful  demeanor,  this  repartee  makes  the 
laughing  waiter  fairly  stagger  out  of  the  room. 

But  Madame  Perrique,  being  a  woman  of  business, 
puts  aside  personal  consideration,  and  now  asks 
eagerly:  "How  did  you  bring  all  these  men  here?" 

"It  is  simple,"  replies  Ambigue.  "To  myself  I 
said  I  can  move  my  characters  on  the  stage,  why  not 
move  people  on  the  stage  of  life?  Therefore  I  sent 
thirty  duplicates  of  this  letter."  He  fumbles  in  his 
pocket,  and  selecting  an  epistle  from  a  variegated  pile 
of  literature  which  chiefly  consists  of  unreceipted 
bills,  smooths  out  the  paper  before  him,  and  observes : 
"It  is  addressed  to  Miss  Alice  Ballard." 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  56 

"Alice  Ballard !"  Madame  Perrique"  gives  a  start. 
"One  of  my  former  pupils !" 

But  unheeding  her,  Ambigue  continues:  "Thirty 
duplicates  of  this  I  had  sent  in  various  adroit  ways 
so  that  they  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  thirty  of  the 
most  inveterate  fortune  hunters  in  Paris.  You  ob- 
serve that  none  but  men  have  entered  your  portals." 

"With  the  exception  of  the  actress,  Armande  de 
Millefleurs,  who  suddenly  engaged  the  best  apart- 
ment in  my  house  this  afternoon/'  returns  the  land- 
lady. 

"Diable!"  mutters  the  bohemian,  with  a  start.  But 
checking  himself,  he  continues :  "My  bait  has  taken, 
and  all  I  have  done  for  myself  is  to  bring  here  the 
manager  of  the  Theatre  Cluny,  as  great  a  fortune 
hunter  as  the  rest,  so  I  can  read  him  one  of  my 
plays." 

"But  what  is  in  the  letter?"  asks  Suzanne,  ner- 
vously. 

"I  stole  it  from  the  first  act  of  one  of  my 
comedies,"  replies  the  dramatist.  "It  has  been  made 
absolutely  realistic,  as  the  yellow  fever  a  year  ago 
devastated  the  State  of  Mississippi."  With  this  in- 
troduction, he  reads  the  following  curious  epistle: 

MY  DEAREST  ALICE — I  send  this  to  your  Parisian  ad- 
dress, having  just  arrived  from  New  York.  My  last  let- 


56  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

ter  from  Mississippi  informed  you  that  my  uncle  had  re- 
turned from  Nevada,  the  land  of  silver,  where  he  owned 
a  mine  of  superb  richness.  Alas,  that  so  wealthy  a  man 
should  not  live.  Two  months  ago  the  yellow  fever,  which 
has  ravaged  by  dear  home,  took  him  for  its  victim. 
He  died  leaving  me  his  whole  fortune. 

My  income  is  so  enormous  that  suitors  for  my  hand 
and,  alas,  I  fear  my  money,  have  been  so  numerous  and 
so  pressing,  that  I  have  fled  from  them  to  Paris,  where, 
being  totally  unknown,  I  may  be  wooed  for  myself  and 
not  for  my  fortune. 

To  test  this,  I  shall  appear  as  a  very  poor  girl,  and  then 
when  some  Adonis  of  the  Boulevard  marries  me  for  love, 
he  shall  find  the  heiress  is  generous  to  a  romantic  heart. 
Inquire  for  me  at  Madame  Perriqu6's,  No.  37  Rue  de 
Provence.  I  shall  probably  be  in  a  garret. 
Yours  devotedly, 

GERTRUDE  ELOISE  HAMMOND. 

"Gertrude  Eloise  Hammond!"  ejaculates  Madame 
Perrique.  "Another  of  my  former  pupils."  Then 
she  asks  in  surprised  tone :  "Ambigue,  where  did  you 
get  the  names  Alice  Ballard  and  Gertrude  Ham- 
mond?" 

This  is  answered  by  the  man  of  letters  opening  the 
door  abruptly  and  commanding  Alphonse,  who  is 
loitering  outside :  "Go  to  my  room  and  bring  me  the 
manuscript  book  you  will  find  upon  the  table." 

Returning  to  Madame  Perrique,  the  dramatist  bows 
affably  and  says  shortly :  "Through  your  kindness,  I 
inhabit  the  garret  along  with  the  rats  and  the  rub- 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  57 

Irish.  Pursuing  one  day  a  rat  who  had  devoured  the 
first  act  of  ray  tragedy " 

"A  rat  ate  your  tragedy — did  it  kill  him?"  asks 
Suzanne,  sarcastically. 

"No,  he  enjoyed  it.  It  had  been  made  palatable 
to  the  little  gourmand  by  the  grease  from  my  candle 
it  was  covered  with,"  grins  Ambigue.  "Pursuing  this 
rat,  I  discovered  among  the  rubbish — ah,  thank  you, 
Alphonse,"  and  he  takes  from  the  waiter  a  book  which 
that  servitor  brings  him.  Then,  carefully  closing  the 
door  upon  the  lingering  gargon,  the  dramatist  taps  a 
well-thumbed  manuscript  volume  bound  in  parch- 
ment, and  queries:  "You  recognize  it?" 

"It  looks  familiar,"  murmurs  Madame  Perrique. 

"It  is  the  roll  and  punishment  book  of  a  young 
ladies'  boarding  school." 

"My  school!      My  book!"  says  Suzanne,  sharply. 

"From  it  I  obtained  the  names  for  the  letter ;  also 
many  of  the  names  of  various  female  characters  for 
my  dramas." 

"And  you  have  dared  to  put  my  pupils  into  your 
vile  plays!"  remarks  the  ex-schoolmistress,  severely; 
adding  reflectively:  "That  book  must  have  been 
packed  up  in  one  of  my  boxes  when  I  moved  my 
school,  two  years  ago." 

"Two  years   ago "      Ambigue   rises  abruptly 


58  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

and  mutters  gloomily :  "That  was  the  unhappy  time 
I  was  robbed  by  a  cruel  schoolmistress  of  the  girl  I 
adored  with  a  passion  that  turned  the  clod  into  a 
flame." 

"For  Heaven's  sake/'  giggles  Suzanne,  "don't  again 
commence  that  old  tale  of  the  brown-eyed  chit  who 
flirted  with  your  susceptible  heart  from  the  window 
of  her  pension.  If  I  had  had  charge  of  her,  she 
would  have  caught  it." 

"No,  doubt,  you  would  have  been  cruel,"  retorts 
the  bohemian,  moodily,  "as  severe  as  her  accursed 
schoolmistress,  whom  I  hate,  and  could  I  find — but 
the  brain  fever  robbed  me  of  revenge.  This  book 
shows  it." 

"Sir!"  exclaims  Madame  Perrique,  indignantly. 

But,  unheeding  her,  he  looks  over  the  pages  in  a 
dreamy,  morose  way,  and  selects  a  few  unpleasant 
items.  "September  10th,  1865,  Alice  Ballard,  Eng- 
land, fifty  lines  for  chewing  gum.  Georgina  For- 
tescue,  for  co-responding — I  mean  corresponding — 
twenty-four  hours'  retirement  in  her  room.  Sep- 
tember llth,  Gertrude  Eloise  Hammond,  Mississippi, 
America,  five  hundred  lines  for  flirting  from  window 
with  Frenchman.  September  14th,  bread  and  water 
for  a  day,  same  offense.  Poor  thing,"  he  half  laughs. 
"Well,  you  see  where  I  discovered  the  names  of  your 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  59 

pupils  for  my  letter,  Alice  Ballard  and  Gertrude 
Eloise  Hammond,  of  Mississippi." 

"And  a  pretty  predicament  you've  placed  me  in," 
answers  the  ex-instructress,  savagely.  "Gertrude 
Hammond  is  now  in  America.  Her  father  was  some 
kind  of  an  agent  for  the  sale  of  Confederate  bonds  in 
Paris.  During  the  great  Civil  War  in  the  United 
States  he  brought  her  to  me,  her  mother  being  dead, 
and  left  her  with  enough  money  for  her  school  bills. 
Without  her,  these  fortune  hunters  will  leave  my 
house." 

"Some  will  stay  a  week,  others  a  month,  others  till 
their  money  is  expended,  hoping  to  meet  the  Ameri- 
can heiress,  then  other  letters  will  be  sent,"  answers 
Ambigue,  confidently. 

"But  we  shall  be  prosecuted  for  fraud,"  stammers 
the  lady. 

"Oho,"  jeers  the  bohemian,  "the  police  will  never 
hear;  victims  of  such  practical  jokes  are  very  silent. 
Madame  Perrique,  some  day,  when  your  purse  is  full, 
go  to  Monsieur  Felix  and  order  a  dress  for  Miss  Ger- 
trude Hammond,  of  Mississippi,  who  has  done  so 
much  for  you." 

"I  shall  do  no  such  thing.  The  brown-eyed  minx 
gave  me  too  much  trouble." 

"Brown-eyed  like  my  lost  angel !"  Ambigue's  face 
grows  very  gloomy. 


60  'A  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET 

"Look  at  that  book  and  tell  me  if  I  should  forgive 
her/'  cries  Suzanne,  and  reads :  "October  18th,  Ger- 
trude Hammond,  sent  home  to  her  father  for  flirting 
with  Frenchman." 

As  Madame  Perriqu6  mentions  the  date  a  wave  of 
agony  flies  through  the  ardent  bohemian.  He 
clenches  his  hands,  and  sighs:  "It  was  on  the  18th 
of  October,  1865,  that  I  loved  and  lost." 

"Yes;  I  had  terrible  trouble  with  her.  She 
seemed  infatuated  with  the  wretch,"  continues  Ma- 
dame Perriqu6.  "Her  adorer  was  a  romantic 
creature  who  wrote  for  the  Parisian  newspapers,  and 
every  morning  threw  violets  into  Gertrude's  window 
addressed  Mignonette." 

"Mignonette !"     This  is  a  gasp  of  horror. 

Alphonse,  listening  outside  the  door,  can  even 
hear  it. 

But  Madame  Perrique,  looking  over  the  pages  of 
the  book,  unfortunately  doesn't  notice  it,  and  runs  on 
to  her  doom:  "A  note  being  found  in  her  room 
signed  'Gaspard/  " 

"Gaspard!"  Ambigue's  agitation  is  terrible.  He 
shudders:  "My  note!  My  nom  de  plume!" 

"So,  as  the  war  in  America  was  over,"  continues 
Suzanne,  "I  sent  Miss  Gerty  back  to  the  States  with  a 
letter  from  No.  32  Eue  du  Rocher." 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  61 

"Xo.  32  Rue  du  Rocher— the  place!" 

"The  chit's  admirer,"  Perrique  carelessly  goes  on, 
"some  beggarly  ink  slinger,  was  so  affected  that  his 
love  changed  to  brain  fever,  and  before  he  recovered 
I  had  moved  my  school  from  32  Rue  du  Rocher  to 
48  Rue  de  Milan,  and  so  escaped  all  further  trouble 
from  the  romantic  Frenchman." 

"But  the  name  on  the  door  plate  of  32  Rue  du 
Rocher  was  Perkins,"  stammers  Ambigue,  trembling 
and  dazed. 

"Precisely.  Perkins  is  my  real  name.  Didn't 
you  know  when  I  entered  the  hotel  business  I  made  it 
French  and  fashionable  and  called  myself  Perrique — 
my  God,  what's  the  matter  with  you  ?"  For  the  ap- 
pearance of  Moliere  Shakespeare  Ambigue  as  he 
stands  before  her  is  simply  horrifying. 

"Perkins !  Perrique !"  he  breaks  out  at  the  unfor- 
tunate schoolmistress.  "At  last  the  chain  is  forged. 
Wretch !  behold  the  man  you  have  fled  from  so  long ! 
Behold  the  creature  who  threw  the  violets !  Behold 
the  Gaspard  of  the  note!" 

"But  your  name  is  Ambigue!" 

"Ambigue  is  my  dramatic  name !" 

"Good  heavens !"  Madame  Perrique"  starts  up, 
alarmed,  and  whispers:  "You're  the  bohemian?" 

"That  you  robbed  of  his  love!     Ah!  Gertrude— 


62  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

Gertrude/'  he  moans,  "whose  name  I  never  knew 
until  these  cruel  pages — "  he  tosses  the  book  on  the 
floor — "gave  up  their  hideous  secret.  To  me  you 
were  always  Mignonette,  and  I  to  you  Gaspard." 
Then,  turning  on  the  astounded  Perrique,  he  de- 
mands :  "Monster,  where  is  your  victim  now  ?" 

"In  Mississippi.  A  year  ago  I  heard  of  her  father's 
death  in  Havana  by  yellow  fever." 

"Then  she  is  doubtless  dead  also!"  Like  an 
avenging  Nemesis,  he  hisses  in  the  landlady's  ear: 
"Child  torturer !" 

"Spare  me !" 

"Child  torturer,  who  filled  my  dead  love's  exquisite 
eyes  with  pearly  tears;  who  forced  her  exquisite 
mouth  to  swallow  hard  water  and  her  ivory  teeth  to 
masticate  stale  bread,  because  your  victim  had  the 
heart  to  love  the  poor  bohemian."  The  last  is  a 
wailing  sob. 

"It  was  my  duty.  You  should  have  starved  to- 
gether," asserts  the  schoolmistress,  defiantly. 

"She  would  have  been  happier  starving  in  a  garret 
with  me  than  reveling  in  her  luxurious  ancestral  halls 
in  Mississippi !" 

"Ancestral  halls !"  jeers  Madame  Perrique.  "And 
what  have  you  done?  By  your  forged  letters  you 
have  made  the  name  of  the  girl  you  love  the  idol  of 
the  fortune  hunters  of  Paris." 


'A  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET  63 

"By  it  I  shall  both  punish  myself  and  avenge  her !" 
observes  Ambigue  in  icy,  unrelenting  voice.  He 
rings  the  bell.  "From  to-night  Madame  Perrique's 
boarding  house  ceases  to  exist.  I  shall  denounce  you 
to  your  guests !" 

"Think — if  you  ruin  me  you  ruin  yourself!"  im- 
plores the  landlady. 

But,  unheeding  her,  Ambigue  addresses  Alphonse, 
who  has  come  hastily  in,  saying:  "Are  any  of  Ma- 
dame's  guests  in  the  house?" 

"Yes;  some  in  the  reception-room,  trying  to  find 
out  something  of  the  child  who  plays  the  piano  so 
horribly,"  grins  the  waiter. 

"Bequest  them  to  step  here." 

The  gar$on  passes  out  of  the  door. 

To  the  shivering  ex-schoolmistress  the  bohemian 
whispers :  "After  that  he  will  go  out  and  get  a  couple 
of  gendarmes." 

"Gendarmes!      For  what?"  shrieks  Perrique. 

"To  arrest  you  and  me,  of  course!" 

"M on  Dieu,  you're  crazy !"  moans  the  landlady. 

"Crazy !"  he  jeers,  vindictively.  "You  will  be  crazy 
when  I  tell  these  people  the  fools  they  have  been 
made,  and  the  Tribunale  of  Police  Correctionale  has 
Suzanne  Perrique,  hotesse,  and  Moliere  Shakespeare 
Ambigue,  dramatist,  before  it,  charged  with  con- 


64  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

spiracy  to  entice  people  into  her  boarding  house  for 
the  purpose  of  extorting  money.  Ah.  then  it  will  be 
bread  and  water  for  me  and  for  you !" 

"For  God's  sake  have  mercy  on  a  widow!"  she 
pleads,  frantically. 

"Were  you  maid,  wife  or  widow  all  in  one,  I'd 
sacrifice  you,"  he  snarls,  savagely. 

Eequested  by  Alphonse,  the  guests  are  approaching 
the  reception-room.  The  Turk  and  the  Greek  are 
already  at  the  door. 

"Messieurs,"  observes  Ambigue  in  cold,  implacable 
voice,  a  mocking  sneer  upon  his  mobile  face  as  he 
glances  morosely  at  PerriquS,  who  has  sunk  overcome 
into  a  chair.  "You  no  doubt  think  yourselves  very 
wise,  but  I  have  a  hideous  joke  to  tell  you  that  will 
make  you  think  yourselves  the  greatest  dolts  on 
earth." 

But  the  gentlemen  lodgers  now  pay  little  attention 
to  him. 

A  timid,  faltering  ring  has  been  heard  at  the  street 
door.  Alphonse  is  gliding  about  the  clustering  guests, 
whose  faces  are  turned  inquiringly  upon  the  jeering 
Ambigue,  and  giving  each  of  them  three  taps  upon 
the  back. 

With  that,  none  of  them  have  eyes  except  on  the 
hallway,  along  which  is  approaching  a  young  girl, 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  65 

scarce  over  twenty,  her  beautiful  face  exceedingly 
pale,  her  steps  weak  and  trembling.  At  the  door  of 
the  reception-room  she  pauses  as  if  to  nerve  herself 
for  an  ordeal  as  her  shivering  hands  try  to  brush  the 
snow  from  the  well-worn,  almost  dilapidated,  gar- 
ments that  drape  her  graceful  figure. 

During  this,  Alphonse,  skipping  in  before  her,  an- 
nounces impressively:  "Mademoiselle  Gertrude  Ham- 
mond." 

At  the  waiter's  words  each  man  in  the  reception- 
room  assumes  a  deferential  attitude  save  the  bo- 
hemian,  who  seizes  Madame  Perrique  by  her  scrawny 
arm  and  hisses  in  her  ear :  "A  plot  of  yours !  Some 
disguised  ballet  girl.  You  dare  to  give  to  a  figurante 
the  name  of  my  dead  love!"  Then  he  breaks  out, 
warningly:  "Gentlemen,  this  is  all  a  ruse!  Ma- 
demoiselle Gertrude  Hammond  is  no "  But  the 

words  die  upon  his  lips  as  he  sees  the  pale  face  and 
beautiful  brown  eyes  of  his  lost  love  coming  into  the 
apartment. 

To  her  the  Turk  salaams;  before  her  the  Greek 
bows  and  the  Count  de  Pichoir  assumes  his  most 
effective  boulevard  attitude. 

There  is  a  flurry  of  whisking  skirts,  and  Georgina, 
flying  across  the  hallway,  screams :  "Oh,  Gertie,  my 
old  school  chum!" 


66  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

Upon  all  this  Ambigue  gazes  in  a  dazed  way,  mut- 
tering to  himself:  "Mon  Dieu,  my  lost  love! 
Mignonette,  the  dream  of  my  imagination!"  Of  a 
sudden,  passing  his  hands  through  his  short  hair,  he 
mentally  gasps:  "Ah,  she  died  of  yellow  fever — a 
ghost — a  spirit !  I'll  bite  her  and  see !" 

His  divinity  is  standing  like  a  statue;  her  face, 
made  pallid  by  suffering,  seems  almost  ethereal ;  one 
delicate  hand  is  outstretched,  appealing  to  Madame 
Perrique ;  Ambigue  gives  her  little  finger  a  slight  nip 
with  his  white  teeth. 

Astounded  by  this  strange  greeting,  the  young  lady 
utters  a  plaintive  shriek,  which  is  responded  to  by  a 
joyous  whisper:  "It  screams!  It  lives!  Mon  Dieu! 
Thank  God,  it  lives !" 

There  is  a  groan  of  rage  from  the  assembled  gentle- 
men; but  this  salute  seems  to  have  brought  renewed 
vitality  into  the  faltering  maiden.  She  says,  plead- 
ingly, her  voice  trembling:  "My  old  teacher,  I — I 
returned  to  Paris  a  year  ago  to  study  music.  You 
will  not  refuse  a  home  to  a  poor  girl  who  has  been 
orphaned  by  the  yellow  fever." 

At  this  Madame  Perrique's  gentlemen  guests  look 
very  wise,  and  a  few  consult  surreptitiously  their 
letters. 

"She  has  never  seen  my  forgeries,"  muses  the  bo- 
hemian.  "Didble,  fact  goes  beyond  fiction!" 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  67 

But  the  girl,  addressing  herself  only  to  Madame 
Perrique,  continues  in  a  low,  trembling  voice :  "After 
the  death  of  my  parents  the  local  bank  failed.  I  re- 
ceived no  remittances  from  Mississippi.  I  was  alone, 
helpless,  in  Paris  without  money." 

An  expression  of  sympathetic  horror  arises  from 
every  boulevardier. 

"I  struggled  for  existence,  but  almost  in  vain," 
continues  the  sweet  voice.  "Then  I  sought  you,  but 
you  had  changed  your  name.  Only  this  evening — I 
discovered  it.  Mrs.  Perkins — Madame  Perrique — 
you  will  not  refuse  a  home  to  a  poor  girl  who  has 
none." 

"Diable,  a  consummate  actress,"  reflects  admiringly 
Rousette,  who  has  just  returned  from  his  theatre. 

"Of  course  she  will !"  ejaculates  Georgina. 

But  Madame  Perrique,  suddenly  thinking,  "Here 
is  the  bait  that  will  keep  my  house  full,"  has  already 
opened  wide  her  skinny  arms,  and  cried,  "My  poor 
darling  Gertie ;  of  course  I  will." 

Stepping  toward  her,  the  girl  murmurs,  "I — I'm 

quite  weak.  I  have  not  had  anything  to  eat  for " 

and  would  sink  fainting  upon  the  floor ;  but  Georgina 
catches  her  in  her  quick  arms,  and  kneeling  down 
herself,  holds  her  in  them. 

Then  every  one  is  flying  about;   some  have  called 


68  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

for  wine  and  others  for  food;  Henri  has  produced  a 
jeweled  smelling-bottle,  Alphonse  is  bringing  in  a 
decanter  of  brandy;  every  worshiper  of  Mammon  is 
trying  to  succor  a  goddess  whom  he  believes  rich. 

"Hungry !  My  God !"  Ambigue  seizes  the  brandy 
from  Alphonse,  and  shoving  the  Turk  and  the  Greek 
aside,  murmurs :  "Drink,  sweet  one,  drink !"  Open- 
ing the  pallid  lips,  he  pours  the  invigorating  fluid 
down  his  darling's  throat. 

Looking  upon  him,  recognition  comes  into  his  lost 
love's  eyes;  she  murmurs  faintly:  "Gaspard." 

"Mon  anye!  My  divinity,  Mignonette!"  murmurs 
Ambigue,  in  romantic  rapture. 

But  here  Georgina,  gazing  at  him,  unfortunately 
giggles:  "The  funny  Frenchman  you  used  to  laugh 
at,  Gertie!" 

His  rivals  all  burst  into  merriment. 

"The  funny  Frenchman  she  used  to  laugh  at!" 
shudders  Ambigue,  and  slinks  away  like  a  beaten  cur 
through  the  crowd  of  admiring  devotees  his  forged 
letters  have  produced  for  the  maiden  of  his  heart. 

While  others  are  reviving  his  half-swooning  lost 
love,  while  Suzanne  and  Georgina  are  feeding  her 
with  sandwiches,  and  Alphonse  is  opening  champagne 
for  her  sweet  lips,  and  the  Count  and  the  theatre 
manager  are  respectfully  fanning  her,  Moliere  Shake- 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  69 

spcare  Ambigue  smites  his  hands  together  and  paces 
the  deserted  hallway  of  Madame  Perrique's  house, 
muttering  with  anguished  lips:  "Despair!  'Twaa 
laughter,  not  love,  that  Mignonette  gave  to  Gaspard'i 
devotion  I" 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE   NEW   ORLEANS   LAWYER. 

It  was  some  three  weeks  afterwards  in  the  morn- 
ing. Madame  Perrique's  house  being  crowded,  a  few 
additional  fortune  hunters  having  drifted  into  her 
domicile,  she  had  placed  the  two  young  ladies  under 
her  charge  in  the  same  little  bedroom. 

Georgina,  after  one  or  two  slight  yawns,  opens  her 
blue  eyes,  looks  about  as  if  half  expecting  a  loved 
face  and  murmurs  in  only  partially  awakened  rev- 
erie :  "Jack !"  Then  suddenly  tears  dim  the  bride's 
longing  eyes ;  she  gives  a  little  frantic  gasp  of  dismay 
and  mutters:  "Oh,  my  gracious,  I  forgot;  Jack's 
still  in  Cannes.  Jack's  got  the  measles!" 

Though  a  telegram  had  arrived  two  days  after  her 
bridegroom's  departure,  bringing  the  blessed  news  of 
his  safe  arrival  at  the  Mediterranean  watering  place 
in  which  his  aunt  was  stopping,  after  that  there  had 
come  an  awful  letter  stating  that  he  had  the  measles 
and  wouldn't  return  until  all  danger  of  contagion 
was  over.  Eeflecting  upon  this  his  deserted  bride 

70 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  71 

whimpers :  "As  if  I  cared  for  the  measles.  I'd  kiss 
Jack  if  he  had  the  smallpox.  Oh,  it's  awful  to  be 
left  alone  here  with  that  horrid,  dominant  Perrique, 
who  treats  me  just  as  if  I  had  never  left  her  rule  in 
the  Eue  du  Rocher.  If  Jack  doesn't  come  soon,  she'll 
be  writing  to  my  uncle  for  my  week's  board  bill.  Then 
everything  will  come  out  before  Jack's  reconciled  his 
aunt  to  our  marriage. 

Fortunately  youth  is  seldom  unhappy  long.  As 
Georgina  throws  her  white  arms  pathetically  over 
her  head,  she  chances  to  turn  upon  her  pillow,  and 
glancing  across  a  short  space  that  divides  her  cot 
from  another  little  bed,  suddenly  reflects:  "Oh,  I'm 
a  wretch  to  make  a  fuss  when  my  fate  is  so  much 
happier  than  poor  Gertie's.  Fancy  her  alone  and 
starving  in  Paris  before  she  discovered  that  Mrs. 
Perkins  had  changed  her  name  to  Madame  Perrique. 
However,  she  is  looking  much  better  now." 

The  roses  of  youth  have  returned  to  the  cheeks  tem- 
porarily made  pallid  by  anxiety  and  want,  and  Miss 
Hammond's  pretty  head  surrounded  by  masses  of 
long,  luxuriant  curling  brown  hair,  seems  contented 
enough.  She  sleeps  quite  peacefully  this  morning 
as  the  bright  winter  sun  illuminates  the  little  cham- 
ber, which  has  become  her  resting  place.  For  the 
avaricious  Perrique  has  astutely  concluded  that  Miss 


72  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

G-ertrude  Hammond's  presence  in  the  house  is  nec- 
essary for  her  financial  salvation.  She  has  deter- 
mined to  let  the  crowd  of  fortune  hunters  pursue 
the  young  lady  as  long  as  they  will  pay  her  exorbitant 
bills.  It  is  her  one  hope  of  keeping  her  big  mansion 
in  the  Eue  de  Provence  full  until  the  expiration  of 
her  crushing  lease.  She  has  reflected  contentedly: 
"Why  should  I  care  for  the  disappointment  of  these 
wretches  induced  by  Ambigue's  ruse  to  crowd  my  pen- 
sion?" Her  only  compunction  in  the  matter  is  a 
latent  fear  that  the  trick  may  be  discovered  and 
some  of  the  dupes  may  make  an  outcry  that  will 
produce  an  investigation  before  the  Tribunale  of 
Police  Correctionelle. 

But  the  three  weeks  have  run  along  without  dan- 
ger to  her.  Gertrude  has  recovered  her  youthful 
health  with  sufficient  rapidity  to  cause  her  numerous 
suitors  to  believe  that  her  faintness  from  want  had 
been  a  very  well  planned  dramatic  exhibition  to 
emphasize  her  poverty.  In  fact,  Eousette,  the  man- 
ager of  the  Theatre  Cluny,  as  he  sat  near  her  at 
breakfast  in  the  dining  room,  noticing  the  quickly  re- 
turning roses  to  Miss  Hammond's  cheeks,  had  smiled 
to  himself:  "Par  Dieut  this  heiress  made  a  pathetic 
entry  that  would  have  bothered  even  the  great  De 
Millefleurs,  my  leading  lady,  to  equal  behind  the 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  73 

footlights.  When  I  marry  her  I  may  put  my  sweet 
Gertrude  upon  the  boards,  notwithstanding  her  grand 
fortune.  If  she  acts  as  well  on  the  stage  as  sha 
does  in  real  life,  she'll  make  a  hit  that  will  keep  that 
avaricious  Armando  from  being  too  exacting  as  to 
salary." 

Therefore,  the  manager's  attentions  to  the  putative 
heiress  had  been  exceedingly  marked;  likewise  those 
of  all  the  other  gentlemen  in  the  house.  They  had 
snarled  and  quarreled  over  their  pretty  prey  until 
she  wondered  what  hidden  charm  she  possessed  that 
fascinated  these  men,  who  scarce  glanced  at  Geor- 
gina,  in  her  childish  costume,  and  gave  but  little  at- 
tention even  to  the  superb  charms  of  Armande  de 
Millefleurs,  the  celebrated  actress,  who  occupied  the 
best  apartment  in  the  house. 

After  a  yawn  young  Mrs.  Horton  springs  out  of 
her  little  bed.  She  is  very  anxious  to  receive  a  let- 
ter from  her  putative  brother  stating  that  he  has 
recovered  from  the  measles  and  will  be  with  her  in 
Paris.  For  this,  each  morning  she  had  sneaked  down 
ahead  of  Madame  Perrique  to  the  dining-room  to  put 
her  hand  on  the  epistle  before  her  ex-school-mistress 
could  get  a  chance  to  inspect  it. 

Actuated  with  this  idea,  Georgina  rapidly,  though 
with  several  savage  pouts,  proceeds  to  make  the 


74 

simple  toilette  of  a  schoolgirl,  to  which  Suzanne's 
regime  compels  her. 

She  is  interrupted  in  this  by  Miss  Hammond  awak- 
ening, gazing  at  her  with  sleepy  eyes  and  saying  half 
dreamily :  "Ah,  Georgina,  you  there,  child  ?" 

"Gertie,  you  make  me  so  angry  when  you  call  me 
child!"  cries  the  youthful  matron,  petulantly,  stamp- 
ing a  little  stockinged  foot. 

"Well,  you  look  like  one,"  yawns  Gertrude.  "Come 
here,  dear,  and  give  me  a  good  morning  kiss." 

And  Georgina,  running  to  her  and  putting  her 
slight  arm  around  her  neck,  Miss  Hammond  after  a 
very  cordial  salute  remarks :  "You're  a  wonder.  You 
haven't  grown  a  day  older  since  I  left  school.  In 
fact,  you  look  younger;  only  one  pig-tail  now — you 
used  to  have  two."  She  pats  the  big  luxuriant  braid 
into  which  young  Mrs.  Horton  has  just  gathered  her 
tresses. 

"So  did  you.  I  can  remember  how  you  loathed 
them.  You  feared  Gaspard  would  think  you  so 
young,"  laughs  Georgina.  "But  I  wouldn't  mind 
Madame  Perrique  making  me  braid  my  hair  in  pig- 
tail and  forcing  me  to  wear  this  horrid  fourteen- 
year-old  frock  if  only  Jack  would  come  back." 

"Oh,  yes,  your  brother  who  has  the  measles."  Miss 
Hammond  is  sitting  up  in  bed  and  stretching  a  pair 
of  delicately  rounded  arms,  white  as  snow. 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  75 

This  nonchalant  remark  about  her  adored  Jack 
makes  young  Mrs.  Horton  rather  peevish;  she  says, 
in  almost  childish  sulkiness:  "I  am  sorry  I  cannot 
return  your  compliment.  You  have  grown,  Gertrude, 
exceedingly  mature." 

"Adversity !"  sighs  the  young  American  lady. 

"Adversity !  when  every  man  in  the  house  is  mak- 
ing love  to  you  like  blazes — when  the  Count  de  Pich- 
oir  declares  he  only  lives  in  your  presence — when  the 
German  baron  sighs :  'Das  Lichte  meiner  Seele/  every 
time  you  pass  him  by." 

"Oh,  don't  speak  of  those  persistent  men!"  shud- 
ders Gertrude,  slipping  from  the  bed. 

"Yes,  you  had  better  get  up  or  Perrique  will  be 
after  you!"  giggles  Georgina.  "Bread  and  water, 
eh,  a  la  the  Eue  du  Eocher,  when  the  amative  Gas- 
pard  used  to  throw  in  notes  to  Mignonette." 

This  mention  of  her  former  admirer  makes  Miss 
Hammond's  delicate  lips  tremble.  After  a  moment, 
controlling  herself,  she  says,  affecting  lightness: 
"Oh,  Madame  Perrique  won't  be  very  stern  to  me. 
You  know  she  has  been  exceedingly  kind  to  me  late- 
ly, even  giving  me  this  pretty  dress,"  she  points  to 
an  inexpensive  yet  becoming  toilette,  "and  yester- 
day— "  The  young  lady  pauses  here  and  bites  her 
lips;  then  asks  suddenly,  "Can  you  keep  a  secret, 
Georgie?" 


?6  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Can  I  keep  a  secret!"  cries  young  Mrs.  Morton. 
"Wheugh !  I  should  think  I  could !  A  big  one !" 

"Well,  yesterday,  with  my  consent,  Madame  Per- 
rique'  adopted  me  under  the  French  law,"  says  Miss 
Hammond  impressively.  "She  has  promised  to  let 
me  study  music  again  so  that  I  can  learn  to  support 
myself." 

"Jingo,  made  herself  your  mother !  Cracky,  you'll 
have  to  toe  the  mark  now.  What  did  you  let  her  do 
that  for?"  asks  Georgina  in  astounded  suspicion. 

"What  did  it  matter?"  sighs  Gertrude.  "I  have 
no  relatives  in  the  world." 

"No  relatives  in  the  world !"  The  adolescent  ma- 
tron's eyes  rest  sympathetically  on  the  beautiful  girl. 

"None  except  an  uncle  in  California,  and  he  never 
answered  my  letters  when  I  wrote  telling  him  I  was 
alone  in  Paris  without  friends,  without  money,  al- 
most starving,"  whispers  Miss  Hammond  pathetic- 
ally. "Oh,  Georgina,  may  you  never  suffer  the  mis- 
eries that  I  have.  After  Madame  Perrique  sent  me 
back  to  my  father  in  Mississippi,  we  were  very  poor. 
The  awful  war  between  the  South  and  the  North  had 
just  ended.  The  liberated  negroes  would  not  work 
our  devastated  plantation ;  so  my  poor  papa,  who  had 
grown  aged  with  the  anxieties  of  the  great  combat, 
permitted  me  to  return  here.  I  believed  I  could  sue- 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  77 

ceed  in  getting  not  only  instruction  but  opportunity 
to  exercise  my  vocal  gifts  in  Paris.  Then — then  came 
the  awful  news  of  his  death  by  yellow  fever  and  also 
of  all  my  near  relatives  except  the  uncle  in  Califor- 
nia. They  had  died  in  a  little  place  near  Granada 
that  was  devastated  by  the  scourge."  The  girl  smites 
her  hands  distractedly  together.  "Immediately  after 
followed  the  failure  of  the  local  bank  in  which  was 
deposited  a  few  hundred  dollars,  all  that  was  left  me. 
I — I  was  alone  without  money  in  this  vast  city.  I 
wrote  to  my  uncle  in  California,  but  received  no 
answer.  Life  became  simply  a  struggle  for  existence, 
until  I  found  Madame  Perrique  that  evening  and 
she  gave  me  a  home.  For  this  I  believed  she  deserves 
at  least  the  gratitude  of  obedience  from  me  ?  Conse- 
quently, when  she  suggested  that  I  become  her — her 
daughter  by  adoption,  I  acceded  to  it.  I  believe  my 
old  school  mistress  intends  to  announce  it  to-day. 
Of  this  I  am  glad,  for  then  these  gentlemen  who 
pursue  me  so  persistently  will  be  compelled  to  make 
their  overtures  to  Madame  Perrique,  not  to  me.  You 
know,  under  the  French  law,  I  shall  not  be  my  own 
mistress  until  I  am  twenty-five." 

"Well,  you  can  be  sure  there  is  something  in  this 
adoption  beyond  the  ordinary,"  remarks  Georgina, 
proceeding  with  her  toilette.  "Perrique  was  never 
particularly  kind  to  anyone  in  the  world  before." 


78          A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

''Why.  she  even  fondles  and  caresses  me  now"  ob- 
serves Gertrude,  who  has  begun  to  drape  her  grace- 
ful figure  with  a  plain  but  becoming  morning  gown. 

"Jingo,  she  was  rather  strict  with  you  when  we 
were  at  school,  if  I  remember  rightly,"  jeers  the 
younger  lady,  as  she  sulkily  puts  on  her  juvenile 
frock. 

"Yes,"  answers  Miss  Hammond,  "but  she  has 
changed  to  me.  I  am  better  off  than  you,  my  pretty 
Georgina,"  she  smiles;  then  queries,  a  roguish  look 
in  her  eyes :  "Why  were  you  not  at  dinner  last  night  ?" 

"Oh,  don't  mention  it,"  whispers  Georgina  sav- 
agely. Suzanne  accused  me  of  flirting  with  that 
German  baron,  who  won't  even  look  at  me.  As  if  a 
man  would  flirt  with  a  chit  like  me."  She  glances 
at  the  short  skirts  she  has  just  donned.  "A  boy  in 
knickerbockers  around  the  corner  in  the  Boulevard 
Haussman  wanted  to  roll  a  hoop  with  me.  That's  the 
nearest  to  masculine  attentions  I've  had."  Young 
Mrs.  Horton's  eyes  fill  with  tears.  "If  Perrique 
hadn't  taken  all  my  money  for  board,  I'd — I'd  run 
away,"  she  whimpers.  "Sent  to  bed  like  an  infant  P 
She  stamps  both  of  her  high-heeled  tasseled  bottines 
savagely  on  the  floor;  then  falters  nervously.  "I 
would  have  resisted,  but  if  she  told  Jack  that  I'd  been 
flirting  with  that  German,  perhaps — perhaps  he'd 
be  jealous." 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  79 

"Jack?" 

"Yes,  my  Jack,  my  brother!" 

"Who  ever  heard  of  a  brother  being  jealous?" 
scoffs  Miss  Hammond  airily  as  she  arranges  her 
chignon. 

"But  I've — I've  got  a  very  peculiar  brother,"  stam- 
mers Georgina.  Then  anxious  to  avoid  discussion 
on  this  delicate  subject  the  unfortunate  bride  sud- 
denly says :  "Get  your  things  on  quick,  Gertie.  I'll 
just  run  down  and  see  if  there's  a  letter  from  Jack 
in  the  dining-room  for  me.  Perrique  won't  be  up  for 
three-quarters  of  an  hour — let's  go  off  for  a  walk  in 
the  Pare  Monceaux.  It'll  do  you  good.  There  will 
be  none  of  your  masculine  admirers  about  to  pester 
you  at  this  time  in  the  morning." 

"Very  well,"  replies  Gertrude,  "I  don't  think 
Madame  Perrique  will  object  if  we  go  together." 

Thereupon  Georgina  speeds  downstairs  on  her  er- 
rand, leaving  the  elder  girl  to  complete  her  toilette 
and  think  meditatively  of  her  new  and  curious  re- 
lationship to  her  old  school-mistress.  Miss  Ham- 
mond is  not  suspicious  about  the  matter.  Having 
experienced  the  helplessness  of  isolation  in  this  great 
city,  the  thought  of  Madame  Perrique's  taking  an 
interest  in  her  has  been  a  very  pleasant  one  to  the 
poor  girl.  There  was  none  of  her  compatriots  from 


80  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

whom  she  could  possibly  expect  aid.  At  that  time 
the  American  colony  in  Paris  was  but  a  suggestion 
of  the  crowd  of  visitors  from  the  United  States  that 
now  throng  the  boulevards  of  the  French  Capital, 
though  some  of  them  had  already  impressed  shop- 
keepers with  such  prodigality  that  Americans  were 
generally  considered  extremely  rich.  The  few,  how- 
ever, who  came  from  the  Southern  States,  after  the 
losses  and  devastation  of  the  great  civil  war,  were 
scarce  able  to  take  care  of  themselves  and  in  no  posi- 
tion to  aid  others. 

Impressed  with  her  lonely  and  unprotected  situa- 
tion, Miss  Hammond,  the  previous  day,  as  they  re- 
turned from  the  notary's  after  signing  the  documents 
of  her  adoption,  had  snuggled  up  to  her  old  tutoress 
in  the  cab  and  whispered:  "Dear  Madame  PerriquS, 
for  your  kindness  to  me  you  shall  always  have  my 
obedience." 

"Thank  you,  my  dear  Gertie,"  had  answered  her 
new  mother  triumphantly,  feeling  certain  that  she 
could  now  retain  the  young  lady  who  was  filling  her 
house  with  gentlemen  boarders.  Though  her  charge 
had  been  extremely  high  strung  and  vivacious  until 
misfortune  had  tempered  her  high  spirits,  Madame 
Perrique  has  a  good  deal  of  confidence  in  her  new 
daughter's  innate  virtue,  purity  of  mind  as  well  as 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  81 

nobility  of  disposition.  In  fact,  she  had  not  sent 
Miss  Hammond  back  to  America  for  any  fear  the  girl 
would  make  a  faux  pas,  but  rather  because  her  father's 
remittances  had  grown  uncertain,  the  close  of  the 
disastrous  war  having  left  nearly  everybody  in  the 
Southern  States  financially  exhausted. 

"If  any  gentlemen  approach  you  as  regards  mar- 
riage/' Perrique  had  remarked  to  the  young  lady 
now  so  thoroughly  under  her  rule,  "you  must,  of 
course,  refer  them  to  me.  By  the  bye,  that  Ambigue 
who  was  the  Gaspard  you  used  to  flirt  with  when  you 
were  a  wild  young  thing  in  the  Eue  du  Eocher " 

"Yes,  Madame  Perrique,"  had  faltered  the  girl, 
blushing  to  the  roots  of  her  hair. 

"In  case  he  should  address  you  again,  you  must 
immediately  inform  me,"  commanded  the  landlady 
who  feared  in  some  moment  of  remorse  the  Bohem- 
ian would  reveal  to  the  young  lady  the  peculiar  light 
in  which  his  forgeries  have  caused  her  to  be  regarded 
by  the  crowd  of  suitors  about  her. 

"That  will  not  be  necessary,  dear  guardian,"  Ger- 
trude had  whispered.  "Monsieur  Ambigue,  since  I 
came  to  your  house,  seems  to  have  forgotten  me." 
Though  Miss  Hammond's  words  had  been  haughty, 
her  lips  had  trembled.  A  few  moments  after  to  Ma- 
dame Perrique's  concern  and  astonishment,  the  young 


82  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

lady's  pretty  head  had  drooped  pathetically  upon  her 
guardian's  shoulder  and  her  eyes  had  filled  with  tears. 

Having  from  long  experience  a  pretty  good  knowl- 
edge of  feminine  emotions,  the  ex-schoolmistress  had 
said  sternly :  "No  nonsense,  Gertrude,  about  this  Am- 
bigue!" 

"Certainly  not!"  had  answered  Miss  Hammon^ 
resolutely.  "I  have  too  much  pride,  dear  Suzanne, 
to  think  of  a  man  who  scarcely  even  speaks  to  me." 
Her  eyes  had  grown  bright,  her  nostrils  had  become 
dilated  and  her  fair  head  was  now  very  erect. 

Perhaps  it  is  Gaspard's  coldness  that  makes  Mig- 
nonette indifferent  as  to  Madame  Perrique's  assum- 
ing the  control  of  her  young  life.  Even  this  morn- 
ing, Gertrude  mutters  haughtily :  "What  do  I  care !" 
as  she  finishes  her  simple  toilette. 

A  few  minutes  after,  Miss  Hammond  in  inexpen- 
sive walking  dress  looped  up  over  a  neat  balmora) 
petticoat,  steps  out  of  her  bedroom  and  trips  down 
the  stairs  into  the  hallway,  where  she  is  joined  by 
young  Mrs.  Horton,  who  mutters  pathetically:  "No 
letter,  no  letter  yet!"  then  suddenly  says:  "Hurry 
along,  Gloomy's  in  the  dining-room  and  coming  up 
after  me." 

"Oh,  don't  call  him  that!"  whispers  Gertie  re- 
proachfully as  she  sees  the  white,  high  forehead  fol- 


rA  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET  83 

lowed  by  the  dark,  pathetic  eyes  of  Ambigue,  the 
bohemian,  rising  up  from  the  stairway. 

"Come  on  quick  or  Ghosty  will  catch  us,"  whispers 
Georgina,  plucking  her  sleeve. 

But  Gertrude,  remembering  the  laughing  face  and 
buoyant  mein  of  the  jaunty  Gaspard,  as  with  hope  in 
his  eyes  and  confidence  in  his  bearing  he  pursued  her 
when  she  was  a  flirtatious  minx  on  the  Eue  du  Ro- 
cher,  gazes  wistfully  at  the  gaunt  Ambigue  whose  eyes 
gleam  in  his  head  like  calcium  lights,  and  whose  ap- 
pearance has  grown  morbidly  melancholy  during  the 
last  three  weeks. 

With  improving  health  and  spirits  Miss  Hammond 
would  have  turned  from  the  exaggerated  compliments 
and  attempted  interviews  of  the  crowd  of  boulevard- 
iers  to  one  for  whose  words  she  cares  and  whose 
many  acts  of  guarded  politeness  to  her  during  this 
time  have  recalled  the  piquant  delights  of  her  youth- 
ful flirtation  in  the  Rue  du  Eocher,  when  he  was  Gas- 
pard and  she  Mignonette;  but  smitten  by  Georgina's 
careless  words  the  bohemian  has  kept  proudly  aloof 
from  her. 

Gazing  at  the  crowd  of  adorers  around  his  lost  love, 
Ambigue  has  stalked  the  salon  and  hallways  of  Ma- 
dame Perrique's  house  like  an  anima.ted  statue  of 
morose  philosoph}7.  Though  once  he  had  sneered  to 


84  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

Gertrude :  "You  are  very  popular,  but  when  the  gild- 
ing wears  off,  Mademoiselle." 

The  girl  had  been  too  miserable  to  reply,  except  by 
a  haughty  glance,  though  her  sweet  lips  had  whim- 
pered. She  had  not  forgotten  the  bright  eyes  of  Gas- 
pard  sparkling  with  hope  and  love  as  he  threw  bou- 
quets into  her  schoolgirl  window. 

And  all  the  time  in  the  heart  of  the  sneering  scrib- 
bler was  a  horrible  remorse.  "Even  though  she  has 
mocked  my  love,  she  is  worthy  of  a  better  fate  than 
I  have  given  her,  the  idol  of  these  wretches  who  have 
gilded  her  supreme  beauty  with  gold  and  would  not 
worship  it  without,"  he  has  sighed. 

Despite  plain  calico  gowns,  Miss  Hammond  with 
returning  roses  on  her  cheeks  has  become  more  than 
lovely.  The  proud  spirit  that  had  been  crushed  has 
begun  to  sparkle  in  her  brown  eyes  that  used  to  make 
Gaspard's  heart  beat  as  she  looked  from  her  little 
window  in  the  Rue  du  Rocher,  where  she  was  shut 
up  and  endured  bread  and  water  at  the  hands  of  the 
stern  Perriaue  because  of  his  surreptitious  notes  and 
ardent  attentions. 

Thinking  of  this,  Ambigue  had  been  tempted  many 
times  in  vindictive  vengeance  to  disclose  Perrique's 
secret  to  her  dupes,  but  the  reflection :  "How  my  lost 
love  will  despise  me  when  she  knows/'  had  closed  his 
lips  with  a  shudder. 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  85 

To  divorce  himself  from  this  self-torture,  Ambigue 
had  in  vain  attempted  to  induce  Rousette  to  read  one 
of  his  plays,  but  the  manager  had  put  him  off  from 
time  to  time,  saying  he  had  other  business  on  hand. 
Finally,  one  day  at  breakfast,  in  return  to  repeated 
solicitation,  the  theatrical  manager  had  remarked 
abruptly  to  Moliere:  "My  dear  fellow,  what  is  the 
use  of  reading  your  manuscript  now?  I  have  just 
contracted  with  the  Dramatic  Authors'  Society  for 
the  production  of  a  play  that  I  found  three  days  ago 
smuggled  into  my  laundered  shirts.  I  like  original- 
ity in  authors.  I  read  it.  It  is  immensely  novel.  I 
have  great  hopes  it  will  be  popular." 

"The  title?"  had  whispered  Ambigue  in  trembling 
voice. 

"Oh,  I  don't  mind  mentioning  it  now,  as  I've  just 
signed  the  contract  with  the  Dramatists'  Society, 
though  their  secretary  has  written  me  that  the  author 
of  the  play,  who  has  registered  it  with  them,  desires 
that  his  name  shall  be  kept  secret  until  after  the 
production.  You  will  see  the  piece  advertised  to- 
morrow, and  its  'first  night'  announced  very  shortly." 

"Its  title  ?"  queries  the  bohemian,  a  curious  glance 
in  his  eyes. 

"'The  Fortunes  of  Calypso.'  De  Millefleurs  de- 
clares she's  going  to  make  the  great  hit  of  her  life 


86  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

in  it,  but  De  Millefleurs  always  thinks  she's  going  to 
make  a  hit  in  every  part,''  had  laughed  the  manager, 
who,  engrossed  by  his  forthcoming  production,  didn't 
notice  that  Ambigue's  step,  as  he  left  the  breakfast 
table,  seemed  balloon-like  in  its  lightness.  Rousette 
was  not  aware  either  that  when  the  young  author 
went  up  to  his  garret  and  drove  the  rats  out  of  it,  he 
sank  down  into  a  chair  and  murmured:  "At  last! 
Thank  God,  at  last !"  and  burst  into  a  flood  of  curious 
tears. 

This  had  occurred  two  weeks  before.  This  evening 
is  the  night  of  production.  "The  Passions  of  Calyp- 
so" has  been  placarded  for  the  last  ten  days  on  the 
advertising  columns  about  the  boulevards,  and  seats 
are  being  reserved  at  the  bureau  de  location  and  the 
offices  du  theatres  for  its  first  production.  This  very 
morning,  Alphonse  has  handed  Monsieur  Ambigue  a 
large  documentary  looking  letter.  Opening  it,  he 
has  read: 

DEAR  SIR: 

According  to  your  request,  we  have  carefully  withheld 
the  authorship  of  "The  Passions  of  Calypso,"  drama  in 
four  acts,  but  will  announce  your  name  at  its  first  per- 
formance this  evening  at  the  Theatre  Cluny.  I  enclose 
the  usual  author's  box  and  first  night  tickets. 
Yours  respectfully, 

JEAN  DE  BBISSAC, 
Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Society  of  Dramatic  Authors. 


87 

Taking  the  usual  ten  tickets  from  the  envelope, 
Ambigue  had  looked  at  them  exultingly  and  muttered 
to  himself :  "At  last,  the  dream  is  real,  del,  how  my 
pulse  throbs  when  I  think  of  this  evening.  To-night 
I  shall  see  the  creatures  of  my  imagination  live. 
Should  'Calypso'  succeed,  then  I  can  say:  'Mignon- 
ette, the  pauper  you  laugh  at,  is  a  successful  dramatist 
who  offers  you  his  hand.'  And  yet  she  doesn't  always 
laugh!" 

A  wild  hope  rises  in  his  heart.  "Sometimes  I  have 
seen — what  was  it? — love  or  pity  upon  her  fair  face. 
Should  it  be  passion,  how  quick  will  I  snatch  my  god- 
dess from  this  horde  of  fortune-hunters  whom  my 
accursed  artifice  has  conjured  up  to  make  me  cringe 
with  shame  as  they  pursue  her  poverty,  thinking  she 
is  Danse  of  the  Golden  Shower." 

It  is  this  hope  that  makes  his  deep-set  eyes  gleam 
like  stars  as,  stepping  up  the  stairway,  the  bohemian 
catches  sight  of  the  object  of  his  devotion,  who  is 
about  to  flit  through  the  front  door.  He  would  ad- 
dress her,  but  the  young  lady,  remembering  her 
guardian's  words  of  warning,  steps  hurriedly  into  the 
street  following  Georgina. 

Trying  to  put  Gaspard  out  of  her  mind,  Miss  Ger- 
tie soon  trips  into  the  Boulevard  Haussman.  Braced 
by  the  vigorous  winter  air,  she  is  laughing  vivacious- 


88  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

ly  at  the  piquant  pouts  of  young  Mrs.  Horton,  who 
has  been  again  approached  by  the  boy  around  the 
corner  offering  to  play  hoop  with  her. 

At  this  early  hour  of  the  morning  there  are  more 
nurse  girls  with  their  charges  on  the  streets  than  any 
one  else,  so  the  young  ladies  are  not  annoyed  by  the 
glances  that  are  apt  to  follow  unprotected  female 
loveliness  about  Parisian  streets. 

By  the  way  of  the  only  partially  built-up  Boule- 
vard Malesherbes,  they  soon  reach  the  pretty  Pare 
Monceaux,  where  the  two  loiter  about  its  ruined  col- 
onnade and  wander  by  the  shores  of  its  little  lake  dur- 
ing a  very  pleasant  quarter  of  an  hour. 

But  as  they  turn  away  from  the  waters  of  the 
pretty  Naumachie  to  leave  the  garden,  Gertrude  sud- 
denly clutches  her  companion's  arm  and  abruptly 
hurries  her  along,  saying :  "Quick,  quick !"  a  fright- 
ened intensity  in  her  voice.  Coming  out  into  the  Rue 
de  Monceaux,  she  says,  frantically :  "Georgie,  haven't 
you  a  couple  of  francs  in  your  pocket?  Let's  drive 
home  in  a  cab." 

"I  spent  my  last  franc  for  bonbons  two  days  ago," 
answers  the  juvenile  matron.  "What's  the  matter 
with  you,  anyway?" 

"That  man !" 

"What  man?" 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  89 

"I  can't  stop  to  tell  you  about  him — come!"  and 
Miss  Hammond  hurries  along,  taking  the  quieter 
streets. 

So  the  two  girls  almost  run  down  the  Rue  du 
Rocher,  past  their  old  school,  and  darting  by  the  big 
railroad  station  on  the  Eue  St.  Lazare,  soon  find 
themselves  at  the  entrance  of  Madame  Perrique's 
house.  They  sound  the  bell.  This  not  being  an- 
swered immediately,  Gertrude,  after  a  few  nervous 
ejaculations,  such  as:  "Oh,  why  doesn't  Alphonse 
come  ?  That  man  will  find  me !  Georgie,  see  if  he's 
coming  round  the  corner.  Alphonse,  hurry — hurry !'' 
rings  again  frantically. 

Whereupon  Alphonse,  languidly  opening  the  portal, 
remarks :  "Diable,  by  your  persistency  I  thought  you 
were  a  gendarme." 

But  paying  no  attention  to  the  waiter's  criticism, 
Gertrude  dashes  up  the  stairs  followed  by  Georgina. 
In  her  room,  she  shudders :  "Too  late !  Too  late !  He 
caine  around  the  corner  as  we  entered.  I  know  he 
saw  me  enter  the  house." 

"Are  you  married  to  that  man  ?"  excitedly  queries 
Georgina,  who  thinks  all  girls'  secrets  must  be  like 
hers. 

"No,  but  he  wants  me  to,"  answers  Miss  Ham- 
mond, nervously. 


90  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"That's  terrific.  He  must  be  thundering  bad," 
giggles  the  other  sarcastically.  Then  she  demands 
excitedly:  "What  has  the  wretch  done?" 

"That  I  hardly  know  myself,"  answers  Gertrude, 
reflectively.  "Though  he  professed'  the  deepest  sym- 
pathy with  me "  Miss  Hammond's  eyes  grow 

pathetic,  "misfortune  always  seemed  to  come  to  me 
associated  with  him,  even  to  the  loss  of  my  very  bread 
when  I  was  alone,  struggling  for  existence  in  this 
city  that  is  so  great  it  is  careless  of  individual  misery. 
I  had  obtained  a  situation  in  a  large  dry-goods  store 
in  the  Rue  de  Rivoli.  He  appeared  at  the  counter, 
made  a  few  purchases — I  lost  it.  I  was  engaged  in 
a  little  shop  in  which  they  manufactured  artificial 
flowers.  He  strolled  in,  bought  a  few  of  them — my 
work  was  shortly  declared  unsatisfactory.  Then  al- 
most compelled  by  hunger,  I  threw  away  my  pride 
and  became  a  nurse,  and  took  care  of  a,  little  child. 
As  I  rolled  the  baby  carriage  along  the  Champs  Ely- 
sees,  he  saw  me  and)  walked  with  me,  protesting  his 
sorrow  at  my  misfortunes — that  very  evening  the 
lady  who  employed  me  told  me  I  was  nurse  no  more. 
And  all  the  time  he  was  offering  to  marry  me,  re- 
spectfully, guardedly.  He  was  promising  to  place  me 
above  want,  even  in  luxury;  but  I — I  couldn't,"  she 
shivers.  "He  offered  me  money,  but  it  was  impos- 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  91 

sible  to  place  myself  under  an  obligation  to  a  man 
I  innately  suspected  and  dreaded.  I — I  would  rather 
starve." 

"But  he  doesn't  seem  to  be  such  an  awful  ruffian 
anyway,"  laughs  Georgina,  "offering  to  lend  you 
money,  wishing  to  marry  you.  Tell  me  the  villain's 
name,"  she  jeers. 

"His  name  is  Daniel  Webster  Rosenbaum,"  an- 
swers Miss  Hammond,  simply.  "He  became  ac- 
quainted with  me  by  living  in  the  same  lodging-house 
in  the  Quartier  Maubert,  a  curious  place  for  a  man 
of  his  means.  He — he  told  me  he  was  acquainted 
with  my  uncle  in  California.  He  is,  I  believe,  a  law- 
yer from  New  Orleans,  traveling  in  Europe  on  some 
business,  I  don't  know  what — but  I'm  afraid  of  him. 
Misfortune  seems  always  to  come  with  his  presence. 
I  am  sure  if  he  enters  this  house  some  mysterious 
mishap  will  descend  upon  me,"  she  sighs,  "and  I — I 
can't  bear  any  more." 

"Pooh,  don't  let  Rosenbaum  affect  your  spirits, 
dear  Gertie,"  whispers  Georgina,  "and  don't  look  so 
distressed."  For  at  this  moment  there  rises  faintly 
to  their  ears  the  ring  of  the  front  door  bell.  'Til  run 
downstairs  and  see  if  Rosey  followed  us,"  volunteers 
the  agile  young  lady.  "Together  we'll  annihilate  the 
wooer  who  is  pursuing  you.  For  that  matter,  he  is 


92  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

no  worse  than  every  man  in  the  house — except  Am- 
bigue.  Oh,  why  are  you  so  popular?  Even  Armande 
de  Millefleurs,  that  great  artiste,  can't  get  a  glance 
out  of  'em  when  you're  about.  Keep  cool  and  don't 
be  flustered!" 

With  this  Georgina  rushes  down  the  front  stairs 
anxious  to  aid  her  pretty  friend,  but  in  Madame  Per- 
rique's  reception  room  encounters  a  gentleman  whose 
presence  brings  to  her  even  greater  consternation 
than  it  had  produced  upon  the  nervous  Miss  Ham- 
mond. 

As  the  juvenile  matron,  taking  advantage  of  her 
short  skirts,  comes  strolling  into  the  apartment  in  an 
aimless,  child-like  way,  Alphgpse  is  bowing  before  a 
dapper  little  man  of  about  thirty-five  years  of  age, 
who  is  dressed  in  the  extreme  of  the  prevailing  fash- 
ion, and  wears  startling  jewelry  adorned  by  California 
quartz  and  made  brilliant  by  diamonds.  His  light 
hair  is  rather  scant  upon  the  front  of  his  head,  per- 
mitting glimpses  of  a  shiny  and  brilliant  skull.  His 
straggling  moustache  is  shorter  in  some  places  than 
others  from  his  peculiar  habit  of  gnawing  it  in  mo- 
ments of  reflection.  His  patent  leather  boots  are  as 
brilliant  as  his  eyes,  which  are  those  of  an  astute 
tiger  cat,  though  these  are  softened  by  glasses.  His 
linen  "is  immaculate ;  his  bearing  is  active,  yet  pre- 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  93 

else;  his  words  are  cleancut,  his  manner  of  speech 
fluent;  his  step  gliding. 

Alphonse  is  trying  to  conceal  a  smile  as  he  says: 
"Look  out  and  don't  stumble  over  the  cat." 

But  the  other,  not  heeding  him,  is  speaking  rap- 
idly: "This  is  the  house  of  Suzanne  Perrique,  once 
schoolmistress  of  No.  32  Rue  du  Rocher,  later  of  the 
Rue  de  Milan,  now  boarding-house  keeper  of  the 
Rue  de  Provence?" 

"It  is,  Monsieur,"  remarks  Alphonse.  Mentally 
he  is  ejaculating:  "This  man  seems  to  know  a  good 
deal." 

"Judging  by  the  number  of  hats  in  the  hallway, 
you  have  lots  of  gentlemen  boarders  and  but  four 
ladies,"  observes  the  visitor,  gnawing  his  moustache 
meditatively. 

"How  do  you  guess  that?"  gasps  Alphonse. 

Georgina  gasps  also ! 

She  is  lolling  about  not  very  far  from  the  speakers, 
seated  juvenile  fashion  on  one  foot  and  kicking  the 
other  about  uneasily.  Though  she  is  devouring  their 
conversation,  neither  the  waiter  nor  the  visitor  pays 
any  attention  to  her.  Childhood  was  childhood  in 
those  days,  and  a  girl  was  an  infant  as  long  as  she 
was  in  the  schoolroom.  Consequently,  young  Mrs. 
Horton  has  all  the  privileges  of  childhood,  including 
that  of  being  considered  nobody. 


94  'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"As  I  entered  the  hall  you  called  downstairs :  'Four 
cups  of  tea  for  breakfast !' "  explains  the  visitor, 
"i'he  fad  is  now  for  ladies  to  drink  tea.  Most  of 
your  boarders  arrived  only  recently." 

"What  makes  you  think  that?"  stammers  the 
gargon. 

"The  butcher  boy  at  your  door  told  me  that  three 
•weeks  ago  he  only  delivered  three  pounds  of  meat  a 
day.  This  morning  he  delivered  thirty." 

"Unexpected  arrivals,"  stammers  Alphonse. 
"Commc  il  faut " 

"Exactly :  come  and  go  people — transients,"  breaks 
in  the  gentleman.  "Take  my  card  to  your  mistress. 
I  wish  to  arrange  for  rooms.  I  am  an  American, 
stopping  at  the  Hotel  Saint  Quentin." 

At  the  name  of  the  hotel  young  Mrs.  Horton,  who 
is  still  inspecting  the  interview  with  childish  as- 
surance, suddenly  blushes  like  a  poppy. 

"My  name  is  Daniel  Webster  Rosenbaum,"  con- 
tinues the  gentleman. 

"Americans  always  pay  well,"  thinks  Alphonse, 
pleasantly,  as  he  again  offers  a  seat  to  the  applicant 
for  board,  then  carries  off  the  card  to  Madame  Per- 
rique. 

The  moment  the  waiter  has  gone  Georgina  sees 
to  her  astonishment  Mr.  Daniel  Webster  Rosenbaum 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  95 

glide  carelessly  from  the  salon  to  the  hallway,  where 
he  rapidly  inspects  two  or  three  bouquets  that  had 
just  been  left  by  neighboring  florists,  examining  the 
cards  upon  them  without  any  diffidence  or  hesitation. 

From  this  he  returns  to  the  parlor,  a  look  of  con- 
tentment upon  his  face.  "By  gum,  I  was  right.  She 
did  come  in  here !"  he  is  thinking.  Then  an  expres- 
sion of  amazement  ripples  his  acute  countenance. 
"These  bouquets  and  floral  offerings  addressed  to 
Miss  Gertrude  Hammond,  who  is  nearly  starving,  with 
the  compliments  of  the  Count  de  Pichoir  and  the  card 
of  Monsieur  Paul  Rousette,  take  my  breath  away," 
he  cogitates,  and  Mr.  Daniel  Webster  Rosenbaunrs 
face  grows  perturbed  and  gloomy. 

Then  his  gaze  falls  upon  Georgina,  whose  big  eyes 
have  been  watching  his  unconventional  investigation. 
Noting  her  juvenile  costume,  he  thinks:  "She  looks 
innocent  enough  to  be  safe.  I  dare  question  this 
child." 

Seating  himself  carelessly  in  an  armchair,  Mr. 
Rosenbaum,  assuming  his  most  pleasant  tones,  re- 
marks :  "Come  here,  my  dear." 

"The  idea  of  a  man  speaking  to  me  in  that  way !" 
flutters  young  Mrs.  Horton.  "It's  my  infamously 
short  frock."  Glaring  at  him,  she  gives  two  or  three 
surreptitious  plucks  to  lengthen  her  jupe. 


96  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GAEEET 

"Don't  be  frightened,  child,"  exclaims  Daniel  Web- 
ster, soothingly.  "Are  you  the  daughter  of  Madame 
Perrique  ?" 

"No;  I'm  not!"  answers  Georgina,  defiantly.  "I 
am  a  boarder  with  Madame  Perrique." 

"Don't  get  angry,  little  one,"  observes  Daniel, 
pleasantly.  "I  am  sure  we  shall  be  great  friends. 
I'll  give  you  some  bonbons." 

"I  don't  want  bonbons !"  snarls  the  juvenile  matron. 

But  even  as  she  speaks,  the  astute  gentleman,  gaz- 
ing at  her,  suddenly  smites  her  as  if  by  a  flash  of 
lightning,  for  he  exclaims :  "By  judge  and  jury,  I've 
seen  you  before  in  my  wanderings  about  Paris !" 

He  looks  her  over  from  head  to  foot  as  if  scarce 
believing  his  own  sharp  eyes  and  mutters:  "Well, 
I'll  be  darned!"  Then,  with  a  suggestive  leer,  he 
laughs:  "How  is  dear  Jack?" 

"Oh,  merciful  heavens!" 

Young  Mrs.  Horton  trembles  till  the  tassels  on 
her  high-heeled  bottines  fairly  rustle,  for  this  awful 
man  is  saying:  "You're  the  timid  child  bride  who 
was  hanging  on  that  handsome  fellow's  arm  and  call- 
ing him  'dear  husband'  and  'adored  Jack'  and  say- 
ing, 'Isn't  it  nice  to  be  married  ?' >! 

"No,  no,"  shivers  Georgina. 

Then  she  grows  crimson  to  the  roots  of  her  pig- 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  97 

tail,  next  cold  and  trembling  to  her  very  toes.  This 
horrible  creature  is  observing:  "Oh,  don't  try  to 
deny  it.  I  saw  you  when  you  came  in  at  eleven  o'clock 
at  night,  hanging  upon  Jack's  arm  about  three  weeks 
ago  into  the  Hotel  Saint  Quentin.  You  and  your 
husband  had  rooms  opposite  me.  You  had  just 
walked  over  from  the  Gare  du  Nord.  Reckon  you  had 
arrived  on  the  London  Night  Express." 

The  terrific  thought  that  this  man  knows  her  se- 
cret would  probably  produce  a  fit  of  hysterics  in  the 
detected  bride  did  not  the  awful  voice  of  her  ex- 
schoolmistress  from  the  hall,  saying:  "Alphonse,  is 
the  gentleman  in  the  parlor  ?"  force  young  Mrs.  Hor- 
ton  to  make  a  desperate  effort  to  control  her  nerves. 
She  pleads  with  pallid  lips:  "Oh,  mercy,  don't — 
don't  tell  Madame  Perrique !"  and  holds  herself  up  by 
a  chair,  so  agitated  she  can  hardly  stand,  as  the' 
landlady  enters  the  apartment  with  Rosenbaum's  card 
in  her  hand  and  business  in  her  eye. 

Noting  the  extraordinary  attitude  of  her  charge, 
the  ex-schoolmistress  says  shortly:  "Georgina,  what's 
the  matter  with  you?  Come  here." 

Crushed  by  her  embarrassing  situation,  young 
Mrs.  Horton  falters  meekly :  "Yes,  ma'am,"  and  does 
as  she  is  bid. 

Putting  an  arm  protectingly  over  the  fluttering 


98  A  PRINCE  2N  THE  GARRET 

shoulders  and  assuming  her  old  monitorial  tone,  Su- 
zanne looks  at  her  charge  searchingly  and  remarks 
in  sudden  suspicion:  "What  makes  you  tremble?" 

"N" — noth — nothing,"  stammers  the  youthful  ma- 
tron, dropping  her  head. 

"Ah,  you're  confused.  You  know  I  never  permit 
you  to  be  sentimental  in  the  presence  of  gentlemen." 

This  scene  has  been  instructive  to  Daniel  Webster. 
Observing  Madame  Perrique's  authoritative  tone  and 
the  submissive  way  in  which  G-eorgina  had  answered, 
into  his  mind  has  flown  this  sudden  idea :  "By  Jove, 
a  schoolgirl  elopement!"  He  now  laughs:  "A  spoilt 
child,  Madame?" 

"I'm  afraid  so,"  answers  the  ex-schoolmistress. 
"Georgina,  go  and  sit  over  there  while  I  speak  to  this 
gentleman."  Sha  points  to  a  distant  chair. 

Appalled  by  fear  of  discovery,  young  Mrs.  Horton 
falters:  "Yes,  Madame  Perrique,"  and,  trying  to 
look  defiant,  throws  herself  in  childish  attitude  upon 
the  chair  indicated,  sitting  upon  one  pretty  foot  and 
kicking  the  other  nervously  about.  She  reflects  af- 
frightedly:  "If  that  sneaking,  four-eyed  wretch 
should  tell  Perrique  she  will  telegraph  my  uncle 
sure." 

But  unheeding  her,  Suzanne  has  already  turned  to 
the  astute  Daniel  Webster,  and  looking  him  over 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  99 

searchingly,   has   remarked:    "You   wish  to  engage 
rooms,  Monsieur?" 

"Certainly,"  answers  the  lawyer,  adding,  with  busi- 
ness caution,  "if  your  charges  are  all  right." 

"My  charges  are  all  right  for  me,"  replies  Madame 
Perrique,  stoutly.  "I  can  give  you  a  single  bedded 
room  on  the  top  floor  for  one  hundred  and  fifty  francs 
a  week." 

"Holy  poker!"  ejaculates  Daniel  with  a  whistle. 
In  his  mind  is;  the  unpleasant  thought :  "I've  got  to 
stand  it,  though.  One  hundred  and  fifty  francs  a 
week  shall  not  drive  me  out."  Therefore,  he  replies 
shortly:  "Madame,  I'll  go  you!"  observing  in  ex- 
planation :  "You  must  set  a  good  table.  Every  other 
boarding-house  about  here  is  empty.  Yours  is 
crowded  to  the  roof." 

"Very  well,"  replies  Madame  Perrique.  "My  pay- 
ments are  strictly  in  advance." 

As  Mr.  Rosenbaum  produces  a  well-filled  pocket- 
book  and  counts  out  the  billets  de  banque,  Suzanne, 
glancing  at  Georgina,  who  is  fidgeting  nervously  upon 
her  chair,  commands,  testily :  "Why  are  you  so  rest- 
less? First  position!" 

The  dread  of  being  questioned  as  to  her  agitation 
makes  Georgina  docile;  she  mutters  sulkily:  "Yes, 
ma'am/'  and  puts  her  hands  behind  her  back  as  if 
she  were  in  the  school-room  again. 


100         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"You  can  make  out  ai  receipt  at  your  leisure,"  re- 
marks the  lawyer.  "I  presume  you  noticed  by  my 
card  that  I  am  Daniel  Webster  Kosenbaum,  a  mem- 
ber of  the  New  Orleans  Bar,  divorces  a  specialty. 
That  always  justifies  inquisitive  examination  on  the 
most  private  domestic  topics,"  he  laughs. 

This  remark  about  examination  into  private  topics 
doesn't  seem  to  please  Perrique  very  greatly.  She 
tosses  the  card  petulantly  on  a  nearby  table,  saying: 
"I  will  write  a  receipt,  Monsieur  Daniel  "Webster 
Rosenbaum,"  then  glances  at  the  billets  de  banque 
to  be  sure  they  are  not  counterfeits. 

As  she  rises,  she  suggests  to  Georgina :  "Remember 
what  I  said  to  you." 

"Ah,  one  of  the  pupils  left  over  from  your  board- 
ing-school, I  presume,"  observes  the  lawyer. 

"My  boarding-school!"  ejaculates  the  instructress 
in  a  startled  tone.  "How  do  you  know  that  ?" 

"Oh,  you  will  find  that  I  know  most  everything," 
giggles  Daniel  Webster,  pleasantly. 

This  facetious  suggestion  produces  a  very  disagree- 
able effect  upon  Suzanne.  She  hurriedly  runs  over  in 
her  mind :  "This  lawyer  investigates  private  domestic 
affairs.  He  has  discovered  I  was  a  boarding-school 
mistress."  Then  it  suddenly  flashes  through  her: 
"He's  been  investigating  me.  My  Heaven,  can  he  be 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          101 

ft  detective  trying  to  discover  by  what  ruse  I  have 
lured  all  these  male  boarders  to  my  house?'' 

With  this  she  turns  at  the  door,  and,  coming  back, 
remarks  austerely :  "My  terms  are  two  hundred  francs 
a  week." 

"You  said  one  hundred  and  fifty,"  answers  Daniel 
Webster.  "Besides,  you  accepted  that  amount.  A 
legal  contract,  Madame  Perrique." 

Legal  contracts  are  very  little  to  the  average 
boarding-house  lady.  Suzanne  returns:  "My  only 
vacant  apartment,  now  I  think  of  it,  is  two  hundred 
and  fifty  francs  a  week.  You  can  sue  me  if  you  like. 
But  there  is  no  record  in  a  French  court  of  an  Ameri- 
can ever  obtaining  judgment  against  a  Parisian." 

"By  Blackstone,  I  believe  you're  right,"  sighs  Dan- 
iel Webster,  impressed  by  this  peculiarity  of  French 
justice.  Then  he  says  resolutely :  "Put  me  down  for 
the  two  hundred  and  fifty  francs  apartment.  I'm  & 
fixture.  Here's  another  hundred  francs.  That  should 
clinch  the  matter." 

It  does!  Madame  Perrique  grabs  the  additional 
billet  de  banque,  but  Mr.  Rosenbaum's  very  readiness 
to  endure  extortion  frightens  her;  she  falters  to  her- 
self :  "My  prices  won't  frighten  him  off.  He  must  be 
a  detective!" 

"I'll  just  step  out  and  have  my  luggage  brought 


102         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

here  from  the  Hotel  Saint  Quentin/'  remarks  the 
gentleman,  giving  a  furtive  wink  to  Georgina,  who 
again  nearly  faints  at  the  mention  of  her  honeymoon 
resting  place. 

Fortunately,  Madame  Perrique  doesn't  note  this: 
she  is  absorbed  in  the  sickening  thought :  "Two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  francs  didn't  drive  him  away.  Is  this 
man  here  to  discover  why,  with  every  other  boarding- 
house  empty — mine  is  full  to  overflowing?" 

Perceiving  his  new  landlady's  abstraction,  as  she 
leaves  the  room,  Daniel  Webster  Rosenbaum,  of  the 
New  Orleans  Bar,  rather  sharply  cogitates:  "The  old 
dragon  is  suspicious  of  something.  But  there  is 
only  one  woman  who  could  by  any  chance  bother  me 
in  this  matter,  and  I've  made  her  innoxious,"  and 
drifts  into  a  moody  reverie  about  a  lady  whose 
charming  allurements  had  produced  the  mistake  of 
his  crafty  life.  To  himself  he  jeers:  "I,  a  divorce 
lawyer,  marrying  a  divorced  French  actress  in  a  New 
Orleans  theatre."  But  he  consoles  himself  with  the 
reflection:  "After  she  left  America,  I  had  the  bond 
cut  in  Utah,*  service  by  publication."  Then  he 
favors  his  divorced  wife  with  the  delicate  compli- 

*The  Territory  of  Utah  -was  from  1867  to  1874  quite  a 
South  Dakota  or  Rhode  Island  as  regards  divorces. — 
EDITOR. 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         103 

ment :  "Pish,  with  her  temperament,  Euphrosne  will 
by  this  time  have  married  half  a  dozen  other  hus- 
bands. Besides,  she  is  not  here.  At  last  accounts, 
she  was  in  Algeria  with  the  Theatre  de  Racine  Dra- 
matic Company." 

During  this  Georgina  has  regarded  him  trembling- 
ly; she  is  about  to  sneak  nervously  away  from  this 
man  holding  her  awful  secret.  The  rustle  of  her 
short  but  well  starched  skirts  catches  Rosenbaum's 
ear.  She  inspires  a  novel  idea.  Daniel  "Webster's 
bright  eyes  gleam  through  his  glasses.  He  suddenly 
thinks:  "The  fears  of  this  little  runaway  schoolgirl 
bride  will  make  her  tell  me  everything  about  this 
house."  His  voice  is  dominant  as  he  says:  "Step 
here,  my  pet." 

"Don't  you  dare  call  me  pet!"  mutters  the  dis- 
tracted Mrs.  Horton,  coming  straight  at  him  with 
flaming  eyes. 

But  he  crushes  her  with:  "Don't  be  saucy,  girl. 
Your  secret,  my  overgrown  schoolgirl  eloper,  is  safe 
if  you  do  as  I  wish." 

"What — is — is — that?"  shudders  Georgina,  terror 
and  consternation  making  her  voice  husky. 

"Tell  me  all  about  Mademoiselle  Gertrude  Ham- 
mond. You  were  at  school  with  her  at  No.  32  Rue 
du  Rocher." 


104          A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Tell  you?"  answers  Georgina,  frantically. 
"Never !" 

"Perhaps  it  is  best  for  me  to  relate  to  Madame 
Perrique  the  story  of  your  honeymoon  at  the  Hotel 
Saint  Quentin,"  he  observes,  craftily.  "Then  you 
can  confess  to  her,  show  her  your  marriage  certificate 
iind  your  wedding  ring  and  beg  to  be  forgiven.'* 

The  suggestion  has  such  a  fearful  effect  upon 
young  Mrs.  Horton  that  she  utters  a  plaintive  cry  and 
nearly  swoons.  Recollecting  that  Jack  has  taken  with 
him  the  proofs  of  their  marriage,  in  her  brain  is  surg- 
ing: "This  man  will  tell  Perrique  I  posed  as  a  bride 
at  the  Hotel  Saint  Quentin!  And  I,  with  no  wed- 
ding ring,  no  marriage  lines!  What  awful  thing 
will  Suzanne  telegraph  to  my  uncle?'"' 

Seeing  her  terrific  consternation,  Mr.  Daniel  Web- 
ster Eosenbaum  scoffs  mentally:  "By  criminology, 
I  don't  think  she's  a  bride  at  all.  This  short-skirted 
trembling  chit  has  simply  sneaked  off  on  an  assigna- 
tion— and  been  caught  at  it.  Paris  is  a  fast  place, 
but  this  schoolgirl  Messalina  is  about  the  swiftest 
daisy  in  it." 

This  consideration  banishes  all  sympathy  for  the 
unfortunate  Georgina.  Rosenbaum  says,  coercively: 
"Tell  me  everything  I  ask  or  I'll  blow  on  you  to 
Perrique,"  and  proceeds  to  put  the  trembling  juvenile 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          105 

matron  through  'what  he  calls  "The  Third  Degree" 
with  such  effect  that  he  very  shortly  receives  some 
revelations  about  Miss  Gertrude  Hammond  that  strike 
him  with  consternation. 

At  the  close  of  the  examination  he  says  hurriedty, 
but  threateningly,  to  his  shuddering  witness:  "Open 
your  mouth  about  this,  and  your  stern  old  boss  shall 
know  of  your  Hotel  Saint  Quentin  racket  in  a  sec- 
ond!" 

Then  Mr.  Daniel  "Webster  Eosenbaum  veritably 
staggers  from  Madame  Perrique's  house,  snaps  his 
teeth  together  under  his  thin  lips  and  emits  this 
startling  proposition:  "Holy  Moses,  do  twenty-two 
other  men  know  what  I  know?" 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ARMANDE  DE  MILLEFLEUKS. 

This  consideration  weighs  so  heavily  upon  Mr. 
Rosenbaum's  spirits  that  as  he  reaches  the  Rue  de  La 
Fayette  he  hails  a  voiture,  believing  he  can  think  bet- 
ter in  the  seclusion  of  a  cab. 

As  he  rolls  towards  the  Hotel  Saint  Quentin,  he 
hastily  runs  the  matter  over.  "That  overgrown  child 
was  too  scared  to  lie  to  me,"  he  reflects.  "I  must 
accept  her  astounding  statements  as  facts.  By  gum, 
the  ancient  landlady  has  adopted  the  penniless  Ger- 
trude Hammond.  That's  a  startler!  Has  Perriqufi 
caught  on  as  well?  Holy  poker!''  he  utters  a  low 
whistle.  'Hinder  the  French  law,  my  objective  can't 
marry  without  her  new  mamma's  consent !  I'm  sure 
she  won't  elope  with  me  to  England.  Even  starva- 
tion didn't  coerce  her  to  accept  yours  truly.  But  if 
Perriqu6  says  'Yes'  to  me!  That's  an  idea."  He 
gnaws  his  moustache.  "Girls  in  Paris  wed  the  men 
their  guardians  tell  them  to.  Gertrude  shall  not  be 
106 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          107 

my  objective,  but  Perrique"  shall.  Now  to  get  a  clinch 
on  the  girl's  new  mamma." 

Turning  this  over  in  a  mind  which  is  more  crafty 
than  astute,  Mr.  Rosenbaum's  face  grows  more  hope- 
fuL  "There's  a  little  mystery  about  that  'ere  board- 
ing-house of  Perrique's,"  he  concludes.  "During 
my  search  for  Gertie  Hammond  in  the  last  few  weeks 
I  have  wandered  into  a  good  many  pensions  in  that 
neighborhood,  and  every  one  of  them  was  very  sparse- 
ly settled.  But  Perrique's  is  so  full,  she  had  the 
cheek  to  charge  me  two  hundred  and  fifty  francs  for 
a  little  bedroom.  Why  is  her  house  full  only  of  men  ? 
It  can't  be  they've  all  discovered.  There's  some  other 
reason  for  it.  Just  let  me  get  a  good  criminal  grip 
on  Perrique  and  I'll  make  her  consent  to  her  daugh- 
ter's marriage  with  Daniel  Webster  Rosenbaum. 

Arriving  at  the  Hotel  Saint  Quentin,  Mr.  Rosen- 
baum hastily  packs  his  trunk  in  his  room,  prepara- 
tory to  dispatching  it  to  Madame  Perrique's.  This 
being  finished,  he  abruptly  mutters:  "I'll  clinch  the 
proof  on  Georgina!"  steps  across  the  hallway  to  the 
suite  of  apartments  Jack  and  his  bride  had  occupied, 
and  ascertains  the  numbers  of  the  rooms.  Strolling 
to  the  office  of  the  hotel,  he  cautiously  looks  back  to 
the  date  he  wants  on  the  registration  book.  Finding 
opposite  the  numbers  of  the  honeymoon  apartment  the 


108         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

names  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  John  Winter  Horton,  he  makes 
careful  note  of  the  same. 

As  he,  accompanied  by  a  trunk,  valise  and  hat  box, 
drives  back  to  Madame  Perrique's,  a  greater  confi- 
dence is  in  Mr.  Rosenbaum's  bearing.  He  reflects: 
"Anyway,  I've  got  my  hand  upon  one  person  in  the 
house.  That  child  eloper  is  too  scared  to  do  anything 
but  what  I  tell  her." 

In  this  the  legal  gentleman  is  perfectly  correct. 
Terrified  by  the  crafty  lawyer's  threats,  young  Mrs. 
Horton  hasn't  dared  to  tell  Miss  Hammond  that  the 
dreaded  man  has  entered  the  house.  In  fact,  there 
is  naught  in  her  dazed  mind  except  a  wild  thought : 
"Jack !  If  my  husband  comes,  I  need  no  longer  dread 
this  horrible  wretch's  revelation  to  Perrique." 

Georgina  is  therefore  more  than  ever  anxious  to 
receive  her  husband's  letter,  and  hearing  the  post- 
man's knock  upon  the  servant's  entrance,  she  has 
sneaked  downstairs  in  hope  of  coming  epistle. 

Entering  the  dining-room  of  Madame  Perrique's 
pension,  she  is  astonished  to  find  it  en  fete.  Its  table 
is  set  for  an  elaborate  dejeuner  a  la  fourchette.  A 
bunch  of  flowers  marks  ostentatiously  one  of  the 
places  at  the  dining  table.  On  it  is  a  card  inscribed 
with  the  congratulations  of  Madame  Perrique  on  her 
daughter,  Gertrude's,  convalescence. 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          109 

In  a  little  anteroom,  arranged  on  a  table,  are  bas- 
kets of  flowers,  bouquets  and  two  or  three  ornamental 
knick-knacks,  all  having  cards  or  notes  attached  to 
them.  The  landlady  has  said  she  is  going  to  celebrate 
Miss  Hammond's  complete  return  to  health,  and 
these  are  presents  for  the  poor  but  fascinating  Ger- 
trude from  the  crowd  of  fortune-hunters  who  are 
still  in  pursuit  of  her. 

Alphonse,  arranging  the  breakfast  table,  has  just 
remarked  with  a  Gallic  sneer :  "How  stupidly  cleanly 
some  people  are.  Ambigue  has  actually  dared  to  de- 
mand a  fresh  napkin  every  meal  for  Mademoiselle 
Gertrude  Hammond.  Diable,  she'll  get  it.  Per- 
rique  seems  to  adore  her  as  much  as  any  gentleman 
in  the  house.  Ah,  Monsieur  Acropolis  and  Hadji 
Pacha." 

These  last  words  have  been  addressed  to  the  Turk- 
ish official  and  the  Greek  diplomatist  as  they  enter, 
each  bearing  a  big  bouquet  with  a  note  attached. 
"These,  I  presume,  are  your  offerings  for  Mademoi- 
selle Gertrude  Hammond  upon  this  fete  in  honor  of 
her  complete  restoration  to  health,"  remarks  the 
waiter. 

Both  the  Turk  and  the  Greek  murmur  words  of 
assent  as  Alphonse  carries  their  offerings  to  the  little 
anteroom.  Looking  about  hungrily  and  discovering 


110         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

that  breakfast  is  not  yet  ready,  both  gentlemen  light 
cigarettes ;  though  noting  each  other's  present  to  the 
object  of  general  pursuit,  they  glare  savagely  at  each 
other  as  they  pass  from  the  room. 

Observing  their  amity,  Alphonse,  as  he  resumes 
his  dining-room  duties,  smilingly  philosophizes: 
"This  extraordinary  universal  devotion  for  a  poor 
slavey  is  gigantically  curious.  The  dashing  actress, 
Annande  de  Millefleurs,  has  been  here  for  three 
weeks  and  not  a  man  looks  at  her,  though  she  gazes 
at  every  man." 

These  reflections  the  waiting  Georgina  ventures  to 
interrupt,  suggesting  anxiously:  "Alphonse,  another 
postman  came  a  few  minutes  ago." 

"Void,  petite"  answers  the  waiter,  affably,  and 
hands  her  the  longed-for  epistle. 

Pouncing  upon  the  letter  with  a  cry  of  joy,  the 
bride  carries  it  away  to  the  little  alcove.  Sinking 
into  a  chair,  she  tears  the  envelope  open  and  kisses 
Jack's  signature.  Her  face  grows  bright  as  the  win- 
ter sunshine  coming  in  the  windows  as  she  laughs  to 
herself:  "Jack  says  the  rash  is  all  gone,  and  he  will 
soon  fix  up  matters  with  his  aunt,  who  refuses  to  see 
him  until  all  danger  of  contagion  is  entirely  past. 
Timid  old  woman,  to  dread  the  measles  at  Tier  age. 
But  Jack  writes  he's  coming  in  a  day  or  two."  She 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          111 

kisses  the  letter  rapturously,  then  giggles :  "He's  glad 
I'm  in  such  a  safe  place." 

Her  meditations  are  interrupted  by  Gertrude's 
voice:  "Alphonse,  Madame  Perrique  asks  me  to  tell 
you  to  go  to  the  kitchen  and  be  sure  they  have  break- 
fast ready  promptly.  She  told  me  to  set  the  table 
during  your  absence." 

"Yes,  mademoiselle,"  answers  the  waiter,  politely, 
and  he  goes  out  musing,  sympathetically :  "Perrique 
gets  without  wages  a  servant's  work  out  of  this  poor 
American  girl,  who  is  so  exquisite  every  man  in  the 
house  adores  her." 

Picking  up  a  pile  of  plates  from  the  sideboard, 
Miss  Hammond  unaffectedly  and  contentedly  takes 
up  the  garden's  labors.  Not  hearing  from  Georgina, 
she  has  regained  her  spirits,  believing  she  has  es- 
caped from  her  pursuing  Nemesis.  The  bouquet 
for  her  on  the  table  attracts  her  eye,  and  glancing  at 
Perrique's  attached  card,  a  grateful  smile  flits  over 
her  expressive  features. 

Just  here  Georgina,  looking  up  from  her  letter  and 
finding  herself  in  much  better  spirits  for  it,  says 
abruptly:  "Gertie,  why  are  you  doing  that  lazy  Al- 
phonse's  work?" 

"I  should  do  something  for  my  bread/'  returns 
Miss  Hammond  simply. 


112         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

Conscience  is  smiting  Georgina,  urging  her  to  warn 
Gertrude  of  the  pursuing  Eosenbaum.  But,  terri- 
fied by  his  threat  of  revelation,  she  does  not  dare  to 
speak.  Remorsefully  young  Mrs.  Horton  starts  up 
and,  assisting  in  her  friend's  labors,  exclaims : 
"Shucks,  you  needn't  be  a  genteel  slavey  long,  Gertie. 
Marry !" 

"Marry  whom?"  smiles  Gertrude.  "The  gentle- 
men who  run  after  me  continuously  with  extravagant 
compliments  ?" 

"How  about  the  man  who  only  gives  you  mighty 
sighs?"  suggests  Georgina,  roguishly,  "the  one  who 
stalks  about  this  house  like  a  priest  in  despair." 

"Ah,  the  erratic  Gaspard.  I  only  laugh  at  him." 
Miss  Hammond  emits  a  sigh. 

"Pshaw,  you  don't  always  laugh  at  him.  You 
sighed  as  you  spoke  his  name,"  says  the  other.  "When 
he  built  the  wood  fire  for  you  in  the  parlor  the  other 
day  and  your  other  admirers  affected  not  to  see  you  so 
that  they  need  not  demean  themselves  by  soiling  their 
aristocratic  hands,  did  you  laugh  at  him  then  ?" 

"No,  I — I  cried  at  him,"  mutters  Gertrude,  "and 

then "  a  roguish  smile  ripples  her  face — "he 

looked  so  indignant  that  I  laughed  at  him." 

"Well,"   assents   Georgina,    "Annande   de   Mille- 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          113 

fleurs,  the  leading  actress  of  the  Theatre  Cluny,  who 
tells  me  she  is  going  to  make  an  enormous  success  to- 
night in  'The  Passions  of  Calypso/  doesn't  laugh  at 
him.  For  some  reason,  that  fascinating  actress  makes 
love  to  Moliere." 

"What !"  A  plate  drops  from  Gertrude's  hand  with 
a  crash  and  breaks  into  half  a  dozen  pieces  on  the 
floor. 

"Oh,  murder,  you've  broken  a  plate !"  shivers  Geor- 
gina. 

But,  unheeding  her,  Miss  Hammond,  her  little 
hand  upon  her  beating  heart,  stands  gazing  with  a 
wild  look  in  her  beautiful  eyes  into  the  past. 

"Cracky,  won't  mamma  give  it  to  you!"  giggles 
the  girl  matron  with  a  playful  gesture  of  nursery 
chastisement. 

"For  Heaven's  sake,  don't  call  her  my  mother!" 
murmurs  Gertie,  piteously.  But  after  a  moment  she 
half  laughs,  half  sighs:  "Madame  Perrique  won't 
be  very  stern  to  me.  Look  at  this  pretty  bouquet  she 
has  given  me  with  her  compliments  on  my  complete 
restoration  to  health." 

"That's  thundering  curious,"  whispers  Georgina. 
"Perrique  was  never  known  to  make  a  gift  before, 
and  that  bouquet  must  have  cost  three  francs !  Why, 
it  smells  like  the  one  Jack  gave  me  when  we  were 


114         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"  she  checks  herself,  faltering  disconcertedly : 

"Mine  was  all — all  white." 

"Why,  one  would  think  yours  was  a  bride's  bou- 
quet," observes  Miss  Hammond,  roguishly.  "This 
Jack  of  yours  is  a  very  peculiar  brother." 

"Yes;  he's — he's  the  most  peculiar  brother  you 
ever  saw,"  ejaculates  Georgina,  striving  to  hide  a 
red  face  and  embarrassment  by  looking  through  the 
dining-room  window. 

Glancing  after  her,  Gertrude  muses :  "Georgina  is 
fibbing  to  me  about  that  Jack."  A  look  of  relief 
flits  over  her  sensitive  countenance  as  she  meditates : 
"Perchance  she)  fibbed  to  me  about  the  actress." 

Inspecting  the  table  in  the  alcove  littered  with  her 
presents,  tears  fly  into  Miss  Hammond's  brown  eyes. 
She  sighs:  "Not  even  a  violet  from  him.  But — but 
then  he  is  so  poor." 

Just  at  this  moment  the  bohemian  stalks  into  the 
dining-room  bearing  Madame  Perrique's  No.  4  high- 
lows,  polished  till  they  shine  like  Japanese  lacquer. 
Bowing  before  the  astonished  girl,  he  observes :  "Ma- 
dame Perrique's  boots!" 

"Suzanne's  boots!"  stammers  Gertie. 

"Yes;  those  that  she  requested  you  to  polish.  I 
took  the  liberty.  Those  delicate  fingers  must  not  be 
soiled!  I  polish  off  Perrique  herself  when  I  am 


A  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET          115 

rich !"  and  with  this  ambiguous  threat  Moliere  seats 
himself  morosely  in  a  distant  corner  of  the  apart- 
ment. 

Gliding  to  the  disconcerted  young  lady,  who  is  con- 
fusedly placing  Perrique's  boots  out  of  the  way,  Geor- 
gina  whispers :  "Eich !  Is  Ambigue  crazy  ?" 

"No }  but  sometimes  I  fear  his  poverty  will  make 
him  lose  his  brilliant  mind,"  sighs  Miss  Hammond. 

"Brilliant  mind  ?"  grins  Georgina.  "Luny  mind !" 
she  taps  her  forehead  mockingly. 

But  as  she  speaks  Gertrude  starts  and  looks  agitat- 
edly at  the  fragments  of  the  broken  plate  upon  the 
floor,  for  her  new  mother  is  heard  outside  calling  to 
the  kitchen :  "Alphonse,  tell  the  cook  to  be  sure  and 
overdo  the  cutlets  so  they  won't  eat  so  many  of  them." 

"Thank  you,"  is  the  waiter's  pleasant  response. 
"There  will  be  more  for  me  to  eat." 

This  suggestion  doesn't  seem  to  please  the  entering 
landlady,  whose  sharp  eyes  encounter  the  broken 
crockery.  She  gives  a  snort  of  dismay,  and,  glaring 
about  the  room,  demands:  "What  wretch  broke  that 
plate?  Georgina,  did  you?" 

"No,  ma'am,"  gasps  young  Mrs.  Horton. 

"Gertie,  did  you  ?"  The  new  guardian's  face  looks 
decidedly  austere  to  her  pretty  ward,  who,  however, 
resolutely  steps  forward  to  her,  her  brown  eyes  un- 
abashed, her  frank  lips  about  to  answer. 


116          A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"If  you  did,"  mutters  Madame  Perrique 

But  at  this  instant  Ambigue,  the  bohemian,  spring- 
ing alertly  from  his  distant  corner,  steps  in  front  of 
the  irate  landlady  and,  bowing  humbly,  remarks:  "I 
broke  that  plate." 

"You  ?  Impossible !  What  have  you  to  do  about 
the  table?" 

"Nevertheless,  I  broke  that  plate,"  remarks  Mo- 
liere.  "I  am  perfectly  capable  of  breaking  plates." 
Picking  up  two  or  three  delicate  pieces  of  china  from 
the  table,  he  smashes  them  on  the  floor  and  observes, 
convincingly:  "You  see!"  Then  as  Madame  Per- 
rique emits  a  snort  of  dismay  and  rage,  he  remarks 
grandly :  "Charge  them  to  the  royalties  of  my  play," 
and  returns  to  his  distant  seat. 

Georgina,  despite  her  terror,  emits  a  giggle,  and 
even  Gertrude  smiles. 

"Mountebank!"  screams  the  landlady,  ferociously, 
pursuing  him  to  his  lair.  "The  royalties  of  your 
play!  That's  what  you've  been  telling  me  for  six 
months.  The  royalties  of  a  play  that  will  never  be 
performed !" 

"Be  not  so  sure  of  that !"  exclaims  Ambigue,  turn- 
ing upon  her.  "And  have  a  care,"  he  whispers,  "for 
your  paltry  board,  you  are  subjecting  that  innocent 
to  the  labors  of  a  menial." 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         117 

But  this  is  scarcely  noticed,  Georgina  has  drawn 
Gertie  to  one  side  as  the  Count  de  Pichoir  follows 
Alphonse  from  the;  hall  whispering :  "Be  careful  my 
card  isn't  torn  from  it  when  she  gets  my  basket  of 
flowers." 

"Certainly,  Monsieur." 

And  a  moment  after,  Rousette,  arriving  from 
morning  rehearsal  at  the  Theatre  Cluny,  leads  the 
waiter  to  the  alcove  and  whispers :  "A  free  ticket  for 
the  new  play  to-night.  Be  sure  she  receives  my  box 
of  gloves." 

Catching  site  of  the  object  of  his  pursuit,  Paul 
forgets  he  is  a  fortune  hunter  as  he  looks  into  her 
sweet  brown  eyes,  notes  her  modestly  blushing  cheeks 
and  divines  that  her  cheap  muslin  robe  conceals  a 
Hebe's  form. 

But  now  all  the  gentlemen  in  the  house  come  to  the 
dining-room  to  offer  their  attentions  to  a  girl  whose 
very  elusiveness  increases  their  ardor.  Though  they 
woo  her  for  her  money,  the  eyes  of  many  of  them 
light  up  with  more  than  the  love  of  Mammon  as  they 
gaze  upon  a  supposed  heiress  who,  with  returning 
health,  has  become  a  Venus. 

The  French  officer  from  Mexico,  Captain  Davoust, 
bows  very  low  to  Miss  Hammond  and  hopes  the  ivory 
idol  which  he  had  looted  from  an  old  Aztec  temple 


118         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

will  be  to  her  pleasure,  and  an  English  betting  man 
tells  her  she  looks  like  a  Derby  winner. 

Bather  jealous  of  the  masculine  attentions  show- 
ered upon  Miss  Hammond,  Georgina  sits  kicking  her 
feet  about  discontentedly.  None  pay  any  attention 
to  the  forlorn  bride  except  the  British  bookmaker, 
who  says:  "Blow  my  eyes,  you're  a  rum  child. 
What  are  you  always  kicking  your  legs  about  so  for? 
Run  out  and  chase  a  hoop  in  the  street." 

But  just  at  this  time,  behind  the  gentlemen,  young 
Mrs.  Horton  sees  the  short,  dapper  figure  of  Mr. 
Daniel  Webster  Rosenbaum,  who,  standing  on  tiptoe, 
gives  her  a  suggestive  glance  and  motions  her  to  pri- 
vate interview  in  the  parlor. 

With  a  shiver  the  youthful  matron  sneaks  abjectly 
from  the  assembly. 

About  this  time  the  landlady,  noting  the  eager 
faces  of  the  gentlemen  bowing  before  her  exquisite 
lure,  thinks  it  proper  to  make  a  startling  announce- 
ment. "Gentlemen,"  she  observes,  suavely,  "you  are 
all  very  kind  to  my  ward  on  her  convalescence." 

"Your  ward!"  ejaculates  Ambigue,  starting  up 
from  a  gloomy  reverie. 

"Yes,  I  may  say  my  adopted  daughter." 

"Adopted  daughter !"  Rousette  of  the  Cluny  The- 
atre  seizes  her  by  the  right  hand,  the  Comte  de  Pich- 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          119 

oir  by  the  left,  while  the  others  voice  their  congrat- 
ulations, eager  to  gain  the  good  will  of  the  lady  who 
will  have  the  disposal  of  the  hand  of  the  immensely 
dowered  heiress. 

"Yes ;  I  adopted  her  according  to  French  law  with 
her  consent  yesterday/*  says  the  landlady,  affably. 

Here  Ambigue,  after  meditating  distractedly: 
"What  hideous  machination  does  this  portend!" 
stammers  affrightedly.  "No,  no;  impossible!" 

"Gentlemen,"  remarks  Suzanne,  half-laughingly, 
though  her  eyes  gleam  threateningly  at  the  man  of 
letters,  "he  seems  astounded  that  I  love  the  sunbeam 
of  the  house,"  and  puts  her  arm  about  the  slight  waist 
that  yields  itself  to  her  clasp. 

"Mon  Dieu,  Ambigue  is  an  imbecile!"  sneers  the 
Comte  de  Pichoir. 

"Pah,  he  has  as  much  sentiment  as  the  rats  that 
run  around  in  his  garret,"  laughs  Eousette. 

"Sentiment,"  cries  Ambigue,  turning  on  the  man- 
ager. "Have  you  ever  seen  any  of  my  plays,  Eou- 
sette?" 

"Thank  God,  no,"  jeers  the  man  of  the  theatre, 
"though  you  have  persecuted  me  with  them  for  the 
last  three  weeks.  But  to-night,  if  you  can  get  an 
admission  to  the  Cluny,  you  will  see  the  first  per- 
formance of  a  very  great  one." 


120         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"God  bless  you  for  the  words !"  screams  Ambigue 
as  he  embraces  the  astonished  manager,  kissing  him 
fervidly  on  both  cheeks. 

"He's — he's  crazy!"  stammers  Paul,  pulling  him- 
self away. 

"Eccentric !"  remarks  the  officer. 

"Luny  as  a  March  hare!"  mutters  the  English 
betting  man. 

But,  unheeding  them,  Ambigue  remarks,  grandly: 
"I  shall  have  a  box  for  'The  Passions  of  Calypso.'  '• 

"Box  ?  Nonsense !"  cries  Madame  Perrique.  "He 
has  no  more  money  than  he  has  soul." 

"Soul!"  echoes  Gertrude,  indignantly.  "He  had 
soul  enough  to  black  your  boots,  Madame  Perrique, 
to  save  my  hands.  To  save  me  from  reproof,  he  had 
soul  enough  to  say  he  broke  that  plate  which  I  de- 
stroyed." 

At  this  unexpected  eulogy  of  the  eccentric  man  of 
letters  every  one  looks  at  his  beautiful  champion 
astounded. 

"Mademoiselle,  I  kiss  your  hand,"  murmurs  the 
grateful  Ambigue.  As  he  does  so  he  wonders :  "What 
divine  thing  is  in  her  eyes  ?" 

"My  poor  dear,"  remarks  Madame  Perrique",  sooth- 
ingly, "you  are  hysterical.  Let  me  take  you  to  your 
room." 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          121 

For  catching  some  flash  in  Ambigue's  answering 
glance,  Gertrude,  blushing  to  the  roots  of  her  hair, 
has  become  agitated.  Placing  her  arm  affectionate- 
ly about  her  ward's  waist,  Madame  Perrique  leads 
her  from  the  room. 

But  at  the  door  she  pauses  and  makes  the  follow- 
ing startlingly  unpleasant  announcement:  "Such  is 
the  demand  for  my  rooms,  I  beg  to  state,  gentlemen, 
that  after  to-day  my  charges  for  board  and  lodging 
are  increased  twenty  per  cent." 

Her  arm  about  the  girl's  waist  tells  the  fortune 
hunters  they  must  accede  to  her  terms  to  gain  per- 
mission to  address  her  ward.  Notwithstanding  this, 
there  is  a  flurry  of  miserable  dissent.  The  impecuni- 
ous Count  de  Pichoir  puts  his  hand  into  his  empty 
pockets  and  reflects:  "Mille  diables,  I  cannot  afford 
it  and  yet  I  cannot  leave,"  and  calling:  "Madame 
Perrique!  Madame  Perrique!"  he  runs  out  after 
her  to  expostulate. 

"Morbleu,  I  hope  the  new  play  will  make  money," 
growls  the  manager  of  the  Cluny  Theatre,  and  he 
as  well  as  all  the  other  guests  follow  the  Count  to 
reason  with  their  landlady  on  her  extortionate  prices. 

"You  don't  seem  affected  by  Madame's  increased 
charges?"  grins  Alphonse  to  the  bohemian. 

"No,"   observes    Ambigue,   philosophically.       "A 


122         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

raise  of  twenty  per  cent,  on  nothing  means  nothing! 
What  the  devil  do  I  care!"  and  snaps  his  fingers 
nonchalantly.  Mentally  he  asks:  "What  did 
Mignonette's  eyes  mean  as  I  thanked  her?"  Gas- 
pard's  slight  yet  sinuous  frame  begins  to  expand; 
his  face  glows ;  he  puts  his  hand  to  a  heart  that  beats 
more  rapidly,  and  yet  more  lightly,  than  it  has  done 
since  Mignonette  was  stolen  from  him  by  a  remorse- 
less schoolmistress. 

His  day  dream  is  interrupted  by  a  voice  of  brilliant 
yet  softly  passionate  timbre  saying,  merrily:  "Mus- 
ing of  a  new  dramatic  situation,  my  dear  Ambigue  ?" 

With  a  start  the  bohemian  awakes  and  finds  him- 
self face  to  face  with  a  lady  whose  dashing  charms 
are  such  that  Alphonse  has  often  wondered  why  she 
has  received  no  more  attention  from  the  male  bipeds 
about  the  house.  Arrayed  in  an  exquisite  toilette, 
but  so  dashing  it  is  almost  sensational,  Armande  de 
Millefleurs,  the  leading  lady  of  the  Cluny  Theatre, 
looks  exactly  what  she  is — an  actress,  piquant  enough 
to  play  light  comedy,  yet  passionate  enough  to  dis- 
play the  stronger  emotions  of  the  tragedienne.  But 
for  her  roaming,  erratic  disposition,  she  would  prob- 
ably have  made  a  great  success  on  the  Parisian  stage. 
Had  she  remained  in  the  capital  she  might  have  be- 
come its  idol,  but  she  had  wandered  everywhere,  ap- 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          123 

pearing  behind  the  footlights  on  every  French  stage 
from  Martinique  to  Algeria.  Returned  to  Paris,  for 
the  last  year  she  has  been  the  bright  luminary  at  the 
Theatre  Cluny.  Avaricious,  yet  extravagant,  spend- 
ing more  than  she  makes,  she  is  forever  demanding 
an  increase  of  salary  from  Rousette,  its  manager,  and 
always  in  debt. 

Apparently  she  and  the  dramatist  are  quite  in- 
timate, which  is  reasonable  enough,  as  Ambigue  has 
been  very  attentive  to  the  actress  during  the  last  few 
weeks,  trying  to  pick  up  scraps  of  information  as  to 
how  the  rehearsals  of  his  play  have  gone.  Bowing 
before  her,  he  laughs:  "My  dear  Armande,  I  am 
glad  you  were  not  here  a  few  moments  ago  or  you 
would  have  been  shocked.  Madame  Perrique  has 
announced  that  she  has  increased  her  prices  twenty 
per  cent." 

"Oh,  what  matters  that  to  me?''  remarks  the  lad}', 
nonchalantly.  "I  have  not  paid  Madame  Perrique 
since  I  came  here  any  more  than  you  have." 

"Yes,"  interjects  Alphonse,  pausing  in  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  breakfast-table,  "and  Madame  Per- 
rique is  commencing  to  talk  savage  about  your  bill." 

"Then  thank  God  she  is  not  present,"  observes  the 
actress,  lightly.  "That  horrible  old  woman  always 
deranges  my  artistic  senses.  You  can  remove  my 


134         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

cloak,  dear  Ambigue."  She  has  just  arrived  from 
the  theatre. 

"Dear  Ambigue/'  reflects  the  bohemian,  as  he 
removes  a  very  expensive  manteau  de  promenade  from 
the  beautifully  moulded  shoulders  Armande  turns  to- 
wards him.  "Does  the  cordiality  of  this  great  actress 
indicate  she  suspects  I  have  written  Calypso?" 

During  this  Alphonse  departs  for  the  kitchen  on 
some  errand  connected  with  the  coming  meal. 

"Rehearsals  went  very  well,"  continues  the  lady, 
favoring  Moliere  with  a  peculiar  glance  from  her 
soft,  sensuous,  passionate  eyes,  "everybody  a  little 
nervous,  though.  Eousette  cut  a  few  of  the  lines  of 
the  drama." 

"Cut  a  few  lines!"  screams  Ambigue,  with  rage 
and  horror  in  his  voice;  adding  a  muttered:  "I'll 
cut  his  throat!" 

"You  know  we  play  it  to-night  for  the  first  time," 
observes  the  actress,  concealing  a  smile,  but  suggest- 
ing modestly :  "I  shall  be  superb  as  Calypso." 

"Thank  God!"  ejaculates  the  bohemian,  raptur- 
ously. 

"No,  thank  me"  she  whispers,  "when  I  have  made 
your  play  a  success." 

"del,  you  know?"  Ambigue  looks  at  her  ner- 
vously. 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          125 

'That  you  are  the  author  of  'Calypso'  ?  Of  course, 
T  do,"  says  Annande,  vivaciously.  "Don't  you  recol- 
lect you  read  the  play  to  me  a  year  ago,  immediately 
after  my  return  from  Algeria,  before  I  entered  the 
Cluny  Theatre.  I  remembered  it  as  soon  as  it  was 
in  rehearsal.  Who  could  forget  that  last  divine 
scene — ah!  For  my  grand  acting  to-night,  I  hope 
you  will  be  grateful  to  me." 

"Very  grateful,"  murmurs  the  author,  kissing  her 
delicate  hand  rapturously  and  repeatedly. 

"Don't  salute  my  fingers  too  often,"  laughs  the 
lady,  "they  don't  lead  to  my  lips."  She  taps  the  au- 
thor with  her  parasol.  "Even  after  I  make  your  play 
a  triumph,  remember,  I  can  never  marry." 

"Didble,  who  asked  you  to !"  growls  Ambigue,  mo- 
rosely. 

"Man  ami,  I  always  tell  my  admirers  that  before 
they  grow  too  passionately  desperate,"  observes  the 
artiste,  modestly.  "I  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  wed, 
when  a  simple  ingenue  in  New  Orleans  and  known 
by  the  humble  stage  name  of  Euphrosne,  a  brutal 
American  lawyer,  who  ill-treated  me  frightfully." 

"The  miserable  ruffian!"  mutters  the  author,  who 
dare  not  fail  to  display  sympathy  with  the  actress 
who  is  going  to  appear  in  the  title  role  of  his  drama 
this  very  night. 


126         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"I  am  glad  you  sympathize  with  me/'  laughs  the 
lady.  "He  was  so  unkind  as  to  request  me  to  pay  my 
own  board  bills  out  of  my  own  salary.  Worse,  he 
wanted  to  collect  my  salary  for  me.  But  that  bru- 
tality/' she  says,  angrily,  "I  would  not  submit  to,  and 
fled  back  to  France.  Still,  Daniel  Webster  Rosen- 
baum  was  an  extremely  attractive  man.  He  was  in 
New  Orleans  about  some  claims  for  stolen  cotton 
against  the  General  Butler." 

"Daniel  Webster  Rosenbaum — a  name  good  for  a 
comedy  Yankee,"  murmurs  the  bohemian,  with  an 
eye  to  stage  character. 

"I  always  make  my  admirers  jealous  by  saying  that 
Dan — I  use  the  American  diminutive — was  an  ex- 
tremely attractive  creve"  continues  the  actress. 
"But  as  Madame  Perrique  will  be  coming,  and  as 
I  believe  she  intends  to  demand  my  paltry  board  bill, 
I'll  say  au  revoir,  my  dear  Ambigue." 

"Adieu,  great  artiste,"  murmurs  the  bohemian, 
kissing  her  hand. 

As  Armande  steps  from  the  side  entrance  of  the 
dining-room  a  handkerchief  flutters  from  her  hand. 

The  dramatist  picks  up  the  bit  of  lace  and  won- 
ders: "Did  she  mean  this  for  a  gage  d'amour? 
Lace  trimmed,  monogrammed  A.  de  M. — a  very  ef- 
fective kerchief  to  wipe  my  eyes  with  as  I  this  evening 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          127 

make  my  bow  from  the  author's  box  and  say  'emotion 
overcomes.'  *  He  puts  it  in  his  pocket.  "Mon  Dieu, 
I  am  so  excited  I  must  smoke!  Cigarettes!  Where 
are  they?  Oh,  Hadji  Pacha,  the  Turk,  has  left  his 
case.  I'll  borrow  one  or  two." 

Lighting  one  of  these  and  strolling  nervously  about 
the  halls  of  the  house,  Moliere  chances  to  see  a  new- 
comer in  close  conversation  with  the  perturbed-look- 
ing  Georgina  in  a  corner  of  the  salon.  Wondering 
who  the  man  is,  he  sees  the  card  that  Perrique  had 
carelessly  thrown  upon  the  little  table  in  the  recep- 
tion-room. It  probably  belongs  to  the  new  visitor. 
He  picks  it  up  and  he  reads :  "Daniel  Webster  Ro- 
senbaum."  "This  is  beyond  coincidence,"  he  thinks. 
Then  a  cruel  terror  smites  him ;  he  shudders :  "Di- 
able,  Armande's  brutal  husband !  He  is  in  the  house 
in  pursuit  of  her.  Mon  Dieu,  should  she  see  him 
the  shock  will  destroy  the  nerves  of  the  actress  who 
plays  this  evening  the  heroine  of  my  great  drama. 
Under  her1  husband's  persecution  Armande  might  be 
too  ill  to  appear  at  the  Cluny  to-night."  This  has 
such  a  distracting  effect  upon  the  author  that,  try- 
ing to  think  how  to  protect  his  actress,  he  wanders 
abstractedly  into  the  dining-room. 

Here  the  harsh  voice  of  Madame  Perrique1  greets 
him.  She  is  saying  to  Alphonse :  "And  this  actress 


128         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GAERET 

has  the  audacity  for  three  whole  weeks  to  occupy  my 
best  apartment,  to  eat  my  best  food,  and  doesn't  pay. 
I'll  have  it  out  with  her  now." 

The  landlady  is  turning  from  the  dining-room  with 
business  in  her  eyes,  but  is  suddenly  halted  by  an 
authoritative  tap  upon  the  shoulder.  Ambigue  pleads 
pathetically:  "Don't  disturb  the  sensitive  nerves  of 
an  artiste!" 

"Why  not?  This  actress  never  pays,"  snarls  Ma» 
dame  Perrique.  Then  her  face  grows  white. 

Drawing  her  aside,  Ambigue  whispers:  "You 
have  more  to  consider  than  a  board  bill!  Madame 
Perrique,  you  stand  upon  catastrophe !" 

"Catastrophe !"  stammers  the  landlady. 

"Yes;  there  is  a  strange  man  in  the  parlor.  This 
is  his  card,  I  believe." 

"Yes;  Bosenbaum,"  mutters  Suzanne,  faintly. 
"What  do  you  know  of  him  ?  He  has  engaged  board 
with  me." 

"He  has  no  forged  letter,  but  he  is  questioning  your 
child  boarder  minutely  as  to  Mademoiselle  Gertrude 
Hammond,"  whispers  Ambigue. 

These  words  have  scarcely  left  his  lips  before  Ma- 
dame Perrique,  darting  from  the  apartment,  after  one 
terrific  shudder:  "Mon  Dieu,  the  detective!"  is 
heard  calling  through  the  house :  "Georgina !  Geor- 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         129 

gina,  come  here  instantly!  If  I  catch  you  flirting 
with  a  gentleman " 

"Her  fears  will  make  Perrique"  drive  this  pursuing 
husband  of  Armande  de  Millefleurs  out  of  the  house," 
reflects  the  bohemian,  complacently.  But  thoughts 
of  the  actress  produce  a  new  consideration,  which 
makes  him  extremely  anxious ;  to  the  waiter  he  says, 
hurriedly  and  appealingly :  "Alphonse,  have  you  any 
money  ?" 

"None  to  lend,"  remarks  the  garqon,  doggedly. 
"Monsieur  already  owes  me  seventeen  francs  and  fifty 
centimes." 

"Diable"  moans  the  dramatist  to  himself.  "What 
shall  I  do  for  a  proper  dress  suit  this  evening  ?  When 
I  am  called,  the  audience  will  sneer  at  my  dilapidated 
garments.  Money  to  hire  one  I  must  have.  Per- 
rique— impossible.  To  Eousette  I  do  not  dare  to  say 
'I  am  thy  author ;  let  me  have  thy  pocketbook.'  The 
divine  look  in  Gertrude's  eyes  has  made  this  fortune 
hunter  hate  me.  He  might  destroy  my  drama  on  its 
birth.  A  play  on  its  first  night  is  like  an  infant 
coming  into  the  world — the  slightest  accident  may 
produce,  a  still-born  child.  When  it  has  run  a  hun- 
dred nights,  it  is  strong  enough  to  fight  its  own 
battle." 

Here,  catching  sight  of  the  numerous  gifts   ar- 


130         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

ranged  for  his  sweetheart,  Ambigue  sighs:  "Mon 
Dieu,  how  crushing  is  poverty.  All  save  me  are  rich 
enough  to  make  my  Gertrude  gifts  upon  her  con- 
valescence." 

Passing  his  hand  wildly  through  his  hair,  and  roll- 
ing his  eyes  pathetically,  the  unfortunate  bohemian 
sinks  down  in  the  little  alcove  and  meditates  how  to 
raise  the  wind. 

While  Ambigue  is  thus  engaged  the  New  Orleans 
lawyer  steps  into  the  main  dining-room,  looking  for 
his  breakfast.  He  is  reflecting  discontentedly.  "This 
Georgina  has  confessed  to  me  that  Gertrude  Ham- 
mond is  half  in  love  with  some  scribbler.  These  bo- 
hemians  are  such  crazy  fools  they  are  sometimes  dan- 
gerous to  girls'  hearts.  Four  times  have  I  succeeded 
in  expelling  Miss  Hammond  from,  situations  so  star- 
vation would  make  her  accept  me  for  a  husband. 
Starvation  didn't  seem  to  make  her  like  me.  Now 
something  to  gain  her  heart.  "With  all  these  fellows 
after  her,  I  must  push  matters." 

This  pushing  matters  is  one  of  the  weak  spots  in 
Rosenbaum's.  character.  He  will  not  let  things  take 
their  natural  course.  He  now  proceeds  to  push  mat- 
ters, with  dire  effect  upon  himself.  An  idea,  which 
he  thinks  immense,  strikes  him.  "Ill  hire  the  wait- 
er to  insult  her  and  permit  me  to  chastise  him.  Then 
she'll  look  upon  me  as  a  hero/' 


rA  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         131 

Ambigue,  from  the  seclusion  of  the  alcove,  sees  the 
dreaded  husband  of  Annande  beckon  to  Alphonse 
and  whisper  a  few  words  cautiously  in  his  ear. 

The  waiter  starts,  gazes  at  the  lawyer,  astonished, 
and  mutters,  deprecatingly :  "I  annoy  Miss  Ham- 
mond?" 

"Certainly.  I'll  give  you  a  napoleon  just  to  make 
her  scream  once.  You  can  do  it  delicately,  regular 
French  fashion;  disagreeable,  but  polite.  Just 
enough  to  give  me  an  excuse  to  spring  out  upon  you 
and  gain  her  admiration  by  thumping  you.  Since 
you  are  reluctant,  two  napoleons." 

But  the  waiter,  raising  his  voice,  proudly  says: 
"No  one  could  be  impolite  to  that  poor,  but  charm- 
ing young  lady.  Monsieur,  I  decline  your  ignoble 
offer !"  and,  drawing  himself  up  haughtily,  the  gar- 
gon  strides  from  the  apartment. 

But  now  beside  Mr.  Daniel  Webster  Rosenbaum  is 
standing  Ambigue,  the  bohemian,  and  whispering  to 
him  in  a  voice  muffled  by  agony:  "I  heard  your 
offer  to  the  waiter.  I  will  make  Miss  Hammond 
scream  for  two  napoleons — CASH  !" 

The  cringing  figure  before  him  looks  to  Daniel 
what  he  calls  "easy."  He  answers,  eagerly,  "Done !" 

"At  last  I  have  the  money  for  the  dress  suit  to- 
night," reflects  the  poor  author,  as  he  pockets  the 
gold  pieces. 


132          A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"She'll  be  coming  here  soon,"  directs  the  lawyer, 
rapidly.  "When  she  screams,  1*11  rush  out  upon  you 
and  thump  you  lightly.  The  understanding  is  you 
make  her  scream." 

"Yes,  I'll  make  her  scream.  God  forgive  me,  I'll 
make  her  scream." 

"Then  I'll  await  her  outcry  in  this  alcove,"  remarks 
the  lawyer.  "When  I  hear  I'll  spring  out  upon  you 
and  chastise  you." 

"That  is  as  monsieur  pleases."  The  bohemian  is 
bowing  to  the  earth  so  that  his  eyes,  glaring  like 
lurid  fire-balls,  cannot  be  seen. 

They  are  interrupted  by  the  sweep  of  soft,  rustling 
muslin  in  the  hall.  Mr.  Daniel  Webster  Rosenbaum 
retreats  into  the  alcove. 

A  moment  after,  Miss  Gertie  having  recovered  from 
her  nervous  attack,  trips  into  the  dining-room,  ready 
for  breakfast.  Seeing  Ambigue  awaiting  her  with 
appealing  eyes,  she  would  turn  modestly  away.  But 
he  steps  abruptly  to  her  and  whispers  beneath  his 
breath:  "One  favor,  Mignonette;  please  scream." 

In  response  to  this,  strange  request,  the  girl  gazes 
at  him,  astounded,  almost  affrighted.  His  face  is 
flushed,  his  breath  issues  from  his  lips  in  quick,  short 
gasps. 

"Please  scream,  just  once,  for  Gaspard." 


'A  PEINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         133 

Here  Gertrude  does  utter  a  little  nervous  yell; 
she  thinks  poverty  and  misery  have  made  Gaspard 
a  maniac. 

With  the  cry  out  rushes  Daniel  Webster  Eosen- 
baum.  He  exclaims:  "Villain,  why  did  that  lady 
scream?  Gertrude,  I  am  here!"  and,  like  a  fool, 
slapg  Ambigue. 

With  a  bound  like  a  panther,  the  bohemian  is  upon 
him.  Ambigue  doesn't  know  how  to  punch,  but  he 
knows  how  to  kick,  and  he  gives  Daniel  a  savate 
upon  the  solar  plexus  that  doubles  him  as  if  he  were 
a  jumping  jack. 

Writhing  on  the  floor,  Rosenbaum  is  gasping: 
"Murder!  Villain,  you  have  not  kept  your  con- 
tract!" 

"To  the  letter!  Mon  Dieu,  do  you  suppose  I 
would  permit  you  to  beat  me  in  her  divine  presence  ? 
To  that  I  did  not  agree,"  whispers  Ambigue,  quiet- 
ly. With  this  he  suddenly  turns,  and,  bowing  de- 
votedly, says:  "Mignonette,  thank  you  for  the 
scream." 

But  Miss  Hammond,  recognizing  the  lawyer's  face, 
has  fled,  shuddering,  from  the  apartment. 

With  a  muffled  cry  of  horror,  Ambigue  darts  after 
his  flying  sweetheart,  leaving  Eosenbaum  to  the  as- 
sistance of  Alphonse,  who,  hearing  the  commotion, 


has  darted  in  to  see  what  is  the  matter.  Through  his 
assistance  a  great  stroke  of  good  luck  is  bestowed  on 
the  writhing  schemer.  The  agile  waiter  promptly 
drags  the  lawyer  to  a  little  sofa  in  the  retired  alcove, 
upon  which  he  leaves  him,  rubbing  his  stomach  and 
gasping  for  breath. 

Guessing  the  reason  of  the  fracas,  Alphonse  turns 
to  his  duties  in  the  dining-room,  grinning  to  him- 
self:  "Morbleu,  he  tried  to  hire  Ambigue  to  insult 
his  own  sweetheart,  and  diable,  that's  what  happened 
to  the  scoundrel." 

Though  Eosenbaum's  mind  is  at  first  concentrated 
upon  the  pain  in  his  stomach,  as  his  anguish  grows 
less  it  gradually  turns  to  revenge.  This  suddenly, 
by  ill-chance,  is  placed  within  his  hands.  He  is  still 
lying  on  the  sofa,  when  a  soft,  sensuous  feminine 
voice  makes  him  start  and  look  astounded.  It  comes 
to  him  lightly  from  the  adjoining  dining-room :  "Al- 
phonse, I  am  a  little  fatigued  with  rehearsal;  serve 
for  me  in  my  parlor  a  delicate  breakfast — a  dozen 
petit  oysters,  a  fresh  brook  trout,  a  succulent  sweet- 
bread, a  chicken  partridge,  a  bunch  of  hothouse  as- 
paragus, an  ethereal  omelet  souffle't  and  a  pint  of 
Chateau  Lafitte." 

This  modest  order  is  broken  in  upon  by  the  sharp 
yoice  of  the  landlady,  who  comes  sweeping  in:  she 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         135 

says,  sternly :  "Alphonse,  away,  while  I  see  if  Madem- 
oiselle Armande  de  Millefleurs  has  an  appetite  for  my 
bill." 

The  waiter  goes  laughingly  from  the  room.  Then 
writhing  upon  the  sofa,  the  startled  expression  on 
Daniel  Webster's  face  gradually  gives  way  to  one  of 
victory.  He  listens  with  all  his  ears.  The  ladies  are 
quite  close  to  him,  and,  though  their  voices  at  first 
are  cautious,  as  rage  excites  them  their  tones  become 
more  strident. 

"Savage/'  remarks  the  actress,  languidly,  "you 
have  your  disagreeable  bill  with  you?" 

"Of  course,  I  have;  receipted,  too!"  Rosenbaum 
can  hear  the  landlady  tap  the  paper  viciously. 

"Give  it  to  me.  I  will  pay  it  in  full."  The 
artiste's  voice  is  nonchalantly  debonair. 

"Pay  me?  That's  right.  I  have  always  said  you 
were  a  lady."  Perrique's  manner  is  more  concilia- 
tory. "Permit  me  to  present  it.  Here  it  is." 

The  lawyer  cautiously  and  noiselessly  turns  his 
face.  He  sees  a  lady  he  had  once  known  extremely 
well,  looking  even  more  beautiful  than  she  had  been 
years  ago,  take  the  bill  and  coolly  pocket  it.  Then 
he  hears  her  observe,  laughingly:  "Thank  you." 

"But  my  money  ?"  demands  Madame  Perrique". 

"Call  to-morrow."  The  actress  is  sweeping  to* 
wards  the  door.  "Au  revoir." 


136         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"My  money  now!'  Suzanne's  lean  fingers  clutch 
her  delicate  wrist.  "I'll  have  it  now  I" 

"Then  take  it  now  I"  With  her  finest  tragic  sweep, 
Armande  turns  upon  her  landlady.  "Madame  Per- 
rique,  why  for  three  weeks  do  you  suppose  I  havo 
eaten  your  best  dinners  and  drunk  your  best  wine  ?" 
she  remarks,  in  sneering  tones. 

"Because  you  are  a  glutton !"  retorts  Suzanne,  in 
vindictive  frankness. 

"Because  I  knew  I  could  get  them  for  nothing." 
This  is  in  Armande's  breeziest  comedy  way. 

"Nothing?  You  don't  know  me!"  says  Perrique, 
savagely. 

"No;  but  I  know  your  criminal  secret."  Though 
this  is  in  the  tone  of  a  stage  whisper,  Rosenbaum 
catches  it. 

He  also  notes  the  disconcertion  of  the  landlady's 
manner  as  she  starts  and  falters :  "My  secret !"  then 
questions,  anxiously :  "What  do  you  know  ?" 

"I  know  you  have  enticed  to  your  house  fortune- 
hunters  in  pursuit  of  a  mythical  American  heiress, 
one  Gertrude  Hammond  of  Mississippi/'  replies  the 
actress,  in  low,  laughing  voice. 

"Sh-h-h,  not  so  loud,"  whispers  the  landlady. 

"I'll  shout  it  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven  if  I 
please.  That,  by  means  of  letters  apparently  written 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         137 

by  her,  you  have  made  this  crowd  of  dupes  believe 
your  imaginary  Miss  Hammond  rich.  Supposing  I 
denounce  you  to  the  law." 

"No,  no;  anything  but  that!"  shudders  Madame 
Perrique. 

"Shall  I  hand  you  over  to  justice,"  sneers  Ar- 
mande,  "or  is  my  little  bill  paid  in  full?" 

"It  is  paid  in  full,"  stammers  the  landlady;  then 
queries,  astoundedly:  "But  how  did  you  discover?" 

"How?  Ha — ha — ha."  The  actress's  laugh  is 
very  merry.  "The  letters  signed  Gertrude  Hammond 
were  all  written  in  a  nice,  feminine  hand." 

"So  they  were.  I  never  thought  of  that/'  mutters 
Madame  Perrique. 

"Well,  it  was  necessary  that  my  friend,  Moliere, 
for  the  complete  success  of  his  ruse,  should  have  a 
feminine  amanuensis.  I  had  known  the  poor  fellow 
several  years  in  an  artistic,  bohemian  way.  He  had 
been  imploring  me  to  play  one  of  his  pieces.  To  me 
he  came  about  the  matter  and  told  me  his  plot,  and 
I  wrote  those  letters  to  aid  poor  Ambigue.  This 
hand  signed  the  name  of  the  imaginary  Miss  Ham- 
mond to  them  all." 

"You — you  signed  her  name  ?  Then  I  have  you  !" 
replies  Madame  Perrique,  suddenly.  "Denounce 

me "  she  taps  the  actress  on  the  shoulder,  "and 

we  both  go  to  prison  together." 


138         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GAEEET 

"Oh,  you  jest,"  sneers  De  Millefleurs,  debonairly. 
"Signing  the  name  of  a  mythical  person  is  no  crime." 

"But  signing  the  name  of  a  real  one  is." 

"Real?    Absurd!    You  jest." 

"Miss  Gertrude  Hammond  is  in  this  house  now." 

"Oh,"  jeers  the  actress,  "the  disguised  ballet  girl 
you  have  here  for  your  bait !" 

"For  my  bait!"  answers  Perrique.  "Though  her 
presence  in  the  house  is  but  an  accident,  the  young 
lady  you  scoff  is  one  of  my  former  pupils.  Ambigue 
took  her  name  from  my  old  school  list.  She  came  to 
me  in  distress.  She  is  the  real  Miss  Gertrude  Ham- 
mond of  Mississippi,  America.  She  is  a  young  lady 
of  high  spirit,  who  will  prosecute  you  for  daring  to 
sign  her  name  to  letters  for  so  infamous  an  object. 
Ah,  now  you  turn  pale,  Armande  de  Millefleurs." 
Perrique's  voice  is  menacing.  "Your  crime  is  for- 
gery, though  I  shall  not  denounce  you." 

"Because  to  denounce  me  is  to  denounce  your- 
self!" observes  Armande,  growing  more  confident  at 
the  thought. 

"But  pack  up  your  things,  get  out  of  the  house, 
eat  no  more  of  my  food — don't  dare  to  devour  even 
the  breakfast — and  I  spare  you,"  commands  the  ex- 
schoolmistress. 

"I  shall  leave  your  house,  Madame,"  replies  the 


139 

artiste,  grandly.  "I  will  accept  from  you  no  further 
hospitality  if  it  is  unpleasant  to  you.  Yet,  remem- 
ber, if  knowledge  of  this  affair  comes  to  the  world, 
your  house  will  not  only  be  empty  of  all  of  its  lodgers, 
but  very  unpleasant  things  may  happen  to  you.  I 
merely  mention  this  in  case,  in  some  avaricious  mo- 
ment, you  might  try  to  detain  my  magnificent  werd- 
robe.  Adieu,  Madame  Perrique,  it  is  the  last  time 
you  will  have  the  honor  of  having  Armande  de  Mille- 
fleurs  beneath  your  ignoble  roof,"  and  the  leading 
lady  of  the  Theatre  Cluny,  in  her  finest  grande  dame 
manner,  sweeps  proudly  from  the  apartment. 

"Humph,  thank  God  for  the  leaving  of  that  non- 
paying  gourmand,"  growls  Perrique"  to  herself. 
"Xow  I'll  look  over  the  gifts  of  these  idiots  for  my 
ward,  to  see  what  will  be  useful  to  me,  her  mother." 

She  steps  into  the  alcove  briskly,  then  emits  a 
little,  faltering  shriek,  claps  her  skinny  hand  to  her 
heart,  and  gasps:  "My  God,  the  detective!"  For, 
lying  supinely  on  the  sofa,  a  hideous  smile  on  his 
crafty  features,  is  Daniel  Webster  Rosenbaum. 

''Now,  Madame  Perrique","  he  says,  imperatively, 
"I'll  take  your  confession." 

"My  God,  you've  overheard  everything!"  and  Su- 
zanne reels,  staggers  and  sinks,  half-fainting,  into 
a  chair.  Before  she  rises  Mr.  Rosenbaum  has  put 


140         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

the  trembling  woman  through  his  "third  degree"  even 
more  completely  than  he  had  the  short-skirted  bride. 

At  its  close,  after  reciting  the  penalties  for  fraud 
and  conspiracy  until  she  nearly  faints,  Mr.  Kosen- 
baum,  with  a  few  words  of  explanation,  makes  such  a 
proposition  to  the  affrighted  landlady  that  she  starts 
up  and  shudders:  "No,  no;  impossible!  Gertie 
would  never  consent." 

"Do  it!"  he  commands,  menacingly,  "or  to-night 
you  sleep  in  prison.  Besides,  this  will  be  your  sal- 
vation." 

"How?"  she  gasps;  and  he  explaining  to  her,  she 
utters  a  nervous,  shuddering  assent,  and  murmurs: 
"M  on  Dieu,  you  are  a  wonder !" 

"Now,"  remarks  Eosenbaum,  in  brisk  vindictive* 
ness,  for  the  guests  are  already  entering  the  dining- 
room,  "after  breakfast  we'll  annihilate  the  pauper 
who  kicked  me  I" 


CHAPTER  V. 

GASPABD  AND  MIGNONETTE. 

But  during  this  time  the  pauper  who  kicked  Mr. 
Bosenbaum.  has  been  doing  some  lusty  work. 

Astonished  and  trembling,  Miss  Gertie  Hammond 
has  fled  from  the  scene  of  battle  to  the  little  recep- 
tion room,  where  she  can  be  alone.  She  is  terrified 
at  the  pursuit  of  Eosenbaum,  but  she  is  horrified  by 
the  fear  that  poverty  has  made  Gaspard  crazy. 

Sighing,  she  has  sunk  into  an  armchair,  and  rested 
her  head  moodily  upon  one  white  hand. 

She  is  aroused  by  the  other  being  covered  with  ten- 
der kisses.  Ambigue  is  kneeling  before  her  plead- 
ing :  "For  thei  love  of  God,  forgive  me  for  alarming 
you,  dear  Mademoiselle.  But  when  I  heard  that 
villain  trying  to  engage  poor  Alphonse  to  insult  you, 
that  he  might  play  the  hero  by  attacking  the  waiter, 
I  took  the  supreme  liberty  of  taking  the  waiter's 
place." 

This  statement  is  somewhat  disingenuous — Moliere 
says  nothing  of  the  two  napoleons  that  foe  pocketed 


142         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

by  the  transaction;  but  his  explanation  seems  to  be 
acceptable. 

The  beautiful  girl  murmurs:  "Oh,  thank  you — 
thank  you,  dear  Monsieur  Ambigue;"  then  shud- 
ders: "That  awful  man!" 

"What  man?" 

"The  one  whose  face  has  always  been  a  misfortune 
to  me." 

"A  misfortune  to  you !"  echoes  the  bohemian,  fero- 
ciously. "Had  I  known  that,  I  should  have  kicked 
him  into  the  other  world." 

"Yes,  through  all  my  poverty  in  Paris,  after  the 
death  of  my  parents  by  yellow  fever,"  replies  Miss 
Hammond,  pensively,  yet  sadly,  "whenever  that 
man's  face  crossed  my  vision,  it  seemed  to  threaten 
the  very  bread  I  ate." 

"Mon  Dieu,  the  miscreant!" 

"If  he  passed  me  by,  some  humble  situation  that 
gave  me  a  livelihood,  slipped  from  me  and  left  me 
helpless,"  sighs  the  girl.  "And  each  time  this  Daniel 
Webster  Rosenbaum  offered  to  marry  me." 

"Offered  to  marry  you !"  whispers  Ambigue,  a  hor- 
ror in  his  voice  as  if  this  were  some  monstrous  crime. 
Then  passion  for  the  lovely  being  whose  eyes  are  al- 
luring in  their  very  modesty,  overcoming  prudence, 
he  asserts  in  savage  ardor:  "But  fear  him  no  more; 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          143 

from  to-day  no  one  shall  pursue  you  but  I,  Am- 
bigue!" 

"Oh,  mercy!"  falters  the  maiden,  and  moves  so 
the  table  is  between  her  and  the  impassioned  dra- 
matist. Though  pleasing  to  her,  the  very  ardor  of 
Ambigue's  eyes  almost  terrifies  her;  she  bashfully 
whispers:  "Madame  Perrique  has  forbidden  me  to 
permit  you  to  address  me.  You  must  not  stay  here. 
The  men  coming  through  the  hall  to  breakfast  will 
see  you  with  me." 

"I  go  not  from  here  until  you  say  you  have  for- 
given me." 

Then,  though  she  turns  away  her  head,  Gertrude 
falters  tenderly,  yet  archly:  "I — I  like  your  sym- 
pathy. You  have  my  gratitude,  dear  Monsieur  Am- 
bigue." 

"Gratitude?  Pish!"  mutters  the  lover.  "I'd 
sooner  have  the  jeers  with  which  you  flaunted  Gas- 
pard's  violets  in  the  Rue  du  Rocher." 

"Flaunted  your  violets — jeers?  Oh,  no,"  whispers 
the  girl.  "Georgina  and  the  other  girls  laugh.  I — I 
cried  for  you!" 

"Cried  for  me!  Was  that  not  equally  humiliat- 
ing?" queries  the  bohemian,  morosely.  "The  scoff 
of  a  girl's  boarding-school — my  God,  that's  what  my 
devotion  brought  to  me!" 


144         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Devotion?"  Gertrude's  eyes  glow  as  she  recol- 
lects the  bright  face  of  the  fascinating  Gaspard  who 
but  two  years  before  had  made  her  young  heart  beat 
in  the  Rue  du  Rocher.  She  says,  in  impulsive  re- 
proach: "Then  it  was  your  pride  that  has  kept  you 
from  me  all  these  weeks  when  I  was  alone  here,  un- 
protected from  the  pursuit  of  all  these  men.  You 
stood  aloof  from  me  because  of  some  petty  wound  to 
your  false  pride." 

"Thank  God,  you  noticed  my  coldness !"  ejaculates 
the  impassioned  Moliere.    "Now  I  must  speak." 
"No,  no !"  pleads  the  girl,  bashfully. 
"It  were  a  crime  if  I  remained    silent!       Made- 
moiselle   Hammond — Gertrude  —  Mignonette,     wilt 
listen  to  a  poor  few  words  that  come  from  an  almost 
breaking  heart?" 

"Why  not?"  answers  the  maiden,  simply  and 
proudly.  "Of  all  the  men  who  pursue  me  in  this 
house,  you  are  the  only  one  who  has  given  me  more 
than  protestations." 

"Pah,  I've  saved  your  white  hands  from  making  a 
fire  and  blacking  Madame  Perrique's  accursed  boots, 
and  your  tender  spirit  from  harsh  words  for  a  broken 
plate — paltry  things,  which  until  to-day  your  lips 
have  not  acknowledged." 

"Situated  as  I  am,  a  girl  should  be  very  careful  of 
her  words/'  falters  Gertrude,  diffidently. 


145 

"That  means  that  a  man  should  be  bold  in  his!" 
whispers  the  fervid  Gaspard.  "Only  poverty  has  kept 
my  lips  closed."  He  has  glided  beside  the  drooping 
form.  His  arm  is  outstretched  to  clasp  the  being  he 
loves.  He  mutters  morbidly :  "Could  I  say :  'A  paup- 
er woos  you ;  come  to  my  garret,  Gertrude,  we'll  have 
a  honeymoon  among  the  rats.'  '' 

"Eats!"'  shrieks  the  startled  maid,  gathering  her 
skirts  about  her,  and  about  to  spring  upon  a  neighbor- 
ing chair. 

"Didble,  the  very  mention  frightens  you,"  he  sighs. 

"Only  of  the — the  rats,"  she  murmurs,  bashfully. 

"And  not  of  the  honeymoon?"  He  has  seized  her 
little  wrist.  "Ah,  your  words  open  my  lips.  To- 
night my  play  is  produced  at  the  Cluny." 

"Your  play!*'  she  whispers,  astoundedly — for  a 
moment  fearing  her  first  divination  has  been  true  and 
misfortune  has  destroyed  her  lover's  intellect. 

"Yes,  anonymously ;  but  my  name  as  its  author 
will  be  announced  from  the  stage." 

"Oh,  I'm  so — so  happy,  that  you  have  a  chance  in 
life!" 

Then,  while  Perriqu6's  gong  is  sounding  through- 
out the  house,  summoning  the  fortune  hunters  who 
are  in  pursuit  of  Miss  Hammond  to  breakfast,  as 
they  pass  by  the  reception-room,  the  prize  that  they 
struggle  for  is  ravished  from  them. 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Without  you  I  have  no  chance,"  Ambigue  whis- 
pers. "Wilt  take  it  with  me?" 

"If  you  ask  me  to,  Gaspard,"  sighs  Gertrude,  and 
hangs  her  head. 

"Mignonette!"  His  voice  is  very  tender;  he  kisses 
her  hand  formally. 

Then  the  two  lonely  hearts  begin  to  speak  to  each 
other,  and  a  love  that  in  its  first  birth  had  been  as- 
sassinated by  cruel  circumstances  lives  all  the  strong- 
er in  its  second  life. 

The  girl's  face  is  flaming  as  the  aurora  borealis  and 
her  eyes  sparkle  like  arctic  stars. 

"Mignonette!"  He  has  her  in  his  arms.  His 
kisses  burn  like  fire  upon  her  lips.  Her  heart  flutters 
against  his,  she  is  sobbing  in  his  arms. 

"Tears  in  thy  eyes,  adoration  of  my  soul !"  he  whis- 
pers. 

"Of — of  rapture,  Gaspard,"  she  falters,  and,  mod- 
estly drawing  from  him,  sinks  into  a  chair. 

Ambigue  whips  out  the  lace  handkerchief  of  the 
actress,  wipes  his  pretty  sweetheaart's  orbs  with  it, 
and  laughs:  "No  red  eyes,  my  adored  goddess,  to 
arouse  Perrique's  suspicions  in  the  dining-room." 

Then  the  tramp  of  masculine  feet  on  their  way  to 
breakfast  makes  him  grind  his  teeth.  "Now,"  he  says, 
in  the  proud  confidence  of  victory,  "if  one  of  those 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         147 

fortune  hunters  dares  to  say  love*  to  you,  send  him  to 
Ambigue." 

"Fortune  hunters !"  ejaculates  Gertrude,  and,  turn- 
ing astounded  eyes  to  him,  notes  her  lover's  face  is 
contorted  with  anguish. 

To  himself,  Ambigue  is  moaning :  "But  I  dare  not 
tell  this  being  I  adore  I  have  made  her  the  lure  of 
these  boulevardiers."  With  quick  wit  he  asserts: 
"Yes;  fortune  hunters!  What  greater  wealth  than 
that  of  youth,  beauty  and  love?  In  it  I  am  rich, 
Mignonette!"  His  arm  encircles  her  lithe,  yielding 
waist.  His  kisses  show  that  he  feels  the  maid  be- 
longs to  him. 

"Oh,  Gaspard,  in  your  arms,  poor  as  we  are,  I  can 
be  happy!''  she  says,  sweetly. 

"Pish,  an  empty  pocket  is  a  curse;  want  is  a 
crime !"  shudders  the  bohemian.  "That's  why  to-night 
my  soul  cries  out  for  triumph.  Success  for  my  play 
means  riches  for  me,  wealth  for  you.  Every  grote  the 
grasping  manager  pays  me,  every  salvo  of  applause 
the  grudging  public  throws  at  me,  shall  be  tossed  at 
thy  feet.  And  for  this  reason  my  piece  must  be  su- 
perbly played." 

Then,  to  the  astonishment  of  his  betrothed,  Am- 
bigue suddenly  half-screams :  "The  actress ;  I  had  for- 
gotten her  accursed  husband.  Flight  is  the  safest 
way!"  and  strides  towards  the  door. 


148         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

Rising,  Gertrude  falters:  "Armande,  the  actress?'* 
a  strange  dread  in  her  voice. 

"Yes;  Armande  de  Millefleurs.  You  will  excuse 
me.  Go  to  the  dining-room  and  be  happy  at  your 
breakfast  with  your  adopted  mother,  before  whom,  to- 
morrow, I  shall  bow  and  demand  your  hand.  But  no 
word  of  my  play  to  Kousette.  He  is  my  rival;  he 
might  destroy  it." 

His  sweetheart  would  call  him  back  for  explana- 
tion, but  the  door  opens  abruptly  and  Madame  Per- 
rique's  perturbed  face  is  seen.  She  says,  hurriedly, 
almost  timidly:  "My  guests  are  awaiting  you  at  the 
table,  Gertie." 

"I  am  coming,  Madame  Perrique,"  and  Miss  Ham- 
mond arises,  abstractedly  shoving  the  actress's  hand- 
kerchief into  her  pocket. 

Noting  that  her  ward's  eyes  are  red,  her  manner 
embarrassed,  and  that  Ambigue's  face  seems  covered 
with  an  excited  triumph,  Suzanne  remarks  to  Ger- 
trude, as  they  pass  along  the  hall,  side  by  side,  to- 
wards the  stairs  leading  to  the  dining-room:  "You 
remember  what  I  told  you  about  that  beggarly  fel- 
low?" 

"Yes,  Madame." 

"Very  well ;  don't  forget  it.  I  want  your  love,  my 
child,  but  shall  also  exact  obedience.  You  must  not 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         149 

be  foolish  about  this  out-at-elbows  bohemian."  De- 
spite the  motherly  tone  of  the  ex-schoolmistress,  it 
contains  an  implied  warning. 

To  this  her  adopted  daughter  doesn't  answer, 
though  as  she  walks  down  the  stairs  after  Madame 
Perrique  a  latent  defiance  springs  up  in  her  lovely 
eyes.  Perhaps  it  is  not  altogether  for  her  landlady, 
but  for  the  assembled  gentlemen  she  sees  about  the 
breakfast  table,  waiting  to  do  her  honor. 

They  are  all  very  effusive  to  sweet  Mademoiselle 
Gertrude  this  morning,  and  amid  the  presentation  of 
their  gifts  on  her  restoration  to  complete  health  the 
breakfast  runs  along.  Then  they  quarrel  with  each 
other  for  the  honor  of  toasting  divine  Miss  Ham- 
;mond  till  Madame  Perrique  says :  "As  her  mother,  I 
claim  that  privilege!"  At  which  there  are  bravos 
from  most  of  them  and  shouts  of  "Mashalldh!"  from 
the  Turk  and  "Evoi!"  from  the  Greek. 

Upon  this,  Mr.  Rosenbaum,  who  has  seemingly  re- 
covered his  appetite,  looks  from  his  place  of  honor, 
besides  the  hostess,  with  a  humorous  grin,  though  his 
eyes  at  times  light  up  in  a  sarcastic  triumph,  that 
makes  the  pretty  Gertrude  droop  her  orbs  modestly 
upon  the  tablecloth. 

But  the  girl  is  so  supremely  happy,  as  the  recollec- 
tion of  Ambigue's  impassioned  kisses  bring  the  flam- 


150         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

ing  color  to  her  fair  cheeks,  that  even  the  pusuing 
Daniel  Webster  has  little  terror  for  her.  She  feels 
there  is  one  true  heart  in  the  house  that  beats  for 
her,  and  the  devotion  of  Gaspard  makes  her  confident. 
She  even  laughs  as  the  Comte  de  Pichoir  sneers  at 
Rosenbaum's  Creole  French  which  the  lawyer  has 
-picked  up  in  Louisiana. 

"You  just  wait,  young  man,"  says  Daniel,  in  jovial 
significance,  "when  you  hear  me  talk  French  some 
day,  you'll  jump  with  joy."  As  he  makes  this  as- 
sertion, Mr.  Eosenbaum  winks  good-naturedly  at 
Madame  Perrique,  but  the  landlady  is  so  embarrassed 
at  his  f  acetiousness  that  she  gives  her  English  boarder 
twice  as  much  omelet  as  she  had  intended  to. 

Once,  during  the  meal,  Gertrude  overhears  the  New 
Orleans  lawyer  whisper  to  her  new  mother:  "Cut 
this  breakfast  as  soon  as  you  can,  so  we  can  have  our 
business  confab."  Then  the  adopted  girl's  cheeks 
grow  pale  as  Madame  Perrique's  tones  become  even 
more  motherly,  and  every  time  the  ex-schoolmistress 
calls  her  "daughter"  consternation  flies  through  Miss 
Hammond,  for  Rosenbaum's  eyes  seem  to  emphasize 
the  title. 

A  moment  after,  some  latent  suggestion  in  them 
causes  her  cheeks  to  become  redder  than  they  had 
even  under  Ambigue's  passionate  kisses ;  in  this  man's 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         151 

glances  there  is,  not  only  pursuit,  but  authority — aye, 
even  possession! 

A  sickening  dread  enters  Miss  Hammond's  heart, 
not  for  herself,  but  for  her  love — in  the  absence  of  a 
father,  the  power  of  a  mother  in  France  is  very  great. 
No  daughter  can  legally  wed  without  her  consent  till 
she  is  twenty-five,  and  Miss  Hammond,  by  assenting 
to  Madame  Perrique's  adoption,  has  under  French 
law  given  to  Suzanne  maternal  authority. 

And  she  has  reason  to  fear.  A  very  unscrupulous 
gentleman  has  determined  that  the  young  lady  sitting 
before  him  at  the  breakfast  table  shall  be  his,  and  no 
one  else's.  He  has  been  educated  in  a  school  where 
successfully  rascality  is  much  more  respected  than 
unsuccessful  rectitude — that  of  the  Southern  States 
of  America  during  the  carpet-bag  regime. 

Originally  hatched  in  Ann  Street,  New  York,  the 
youthful  Daniel  Webster  Eosenbaum  had  been  the 
clerk  of  a  police  court  in  the  early  sixties;  but,  dis- 
covering that  there  was  more  money  in  government 
contracts  and  cotton  stealing  in  Louisiana  than  there 
was  in  driving  a  quill  filling  up  blank  warrants  in 
Mott  Street,  New  York,  he  had  migrated  to  New  Or- 
leans, and  prospered  under  the  latter  part  of  the 
rule  of  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  during  this  time  mating 
with  as  pretty  a  soubrette  as  ever  fascinated  a  Creole 
audience  in  the  Orleans  theatre. 


152         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

At  the  close  of  the  war  in  the  United  States,  Mr. 
Bosenbaum  had  hoisted  his  shingle  as  a  lawyer  on 
Canal  Street,  and  flourished  politically  during  the 
early  part  of  the  carpet-bag  period.  But,  suddenly 
discovering  a  great  chance  for  a  fortune,  he  had  one 
day  left  his  office  in  charge  of  his  partner,  Monsieur 
Lerue,  and  for  the  last  few  months  has  been  in  Paris. 

His  mind  is  what  such  an  education  would  natur- 
ally make  it — acute,  without  being  broad;  crafty, 
without  being  astute;  and  yet  full  of  self-assertive, 
combative  confidence.  He  would  not  hesitate  to  dis- 
cuss ecclesiastical  law  with  a  bench  of  bishops  or  to 
refute  a  Mansfield  or  a  Blackstone  on  civil  and  poli- 
tical jurisprudence.  His  motto  is :  "The  means  don't 
count  if  you  get  the  bill  through." 

He  thinks  the  blushing  young  lady  seated  near  to 
him  is  practically  under  his  thumb,  and  his  manner 
becomes  so  confident,  his  smile  so  urbane  and  his 
glance  so  possessive,  that  Grertie  shivers  as  he  says: 
"Now,  Madame  Perrique,  for  a  few  minutes'  business 
confab." 

Miss  Hammond  knows  it  will  be  about  her.  She 
feels  that  her  fate  almost  depends  upon  it.  Agitation 
fills  her  as  Suzanne,  taking  her  to  one  side,  whispers : 
"My  dear,  you  had  better  leave  the  breakfast  table  be- 
fore me.  I  have  some  business  with  Mr.  Eosenbaum. 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          153 

Keep  away  from  every  one  of  these  gentlemen.  I 
don't  wish  you  to  receive  the  attentions  of  anyone  in 
the  house ;  remember  my  words." 

Eecollecting  Gaspard,  the  adopted  daughter's  eyes 
are  not  obedient;  though  she  says  diplomatically: 
"Yes,  Madame,  I  shall  permit  the  addresses  of  no 
gentleman  here." 

About  this  time  she  is  rather  pleased  to  observe 
that  Mr.  Rosenbaum  seems  disappointed  about  some- 
thing. As  the  meal  has  progressed,  he  has  glanced 
quite  often  towards  the  door  as  if  expecting  some 
one.  There  is  but  one  vacant  chair  at  the  table,  that 
of  the  bohemian ;  the  new  arrival  occupying  the  place 
of  De  Millefleurs. 

Apparently  he  is  awaiting  Ambigue  in  order  to  say 
or  do  something  unpleasant,  but  this  chance  never 
comes. 

While  the  others  are  eating,  Monsieur  Moliere 
Shakespeare  Ambigue,  taking  advantage  of  their  ab- 
sence, is  impatiently  trying  to  get  an  interview  with 
the  actress  upstairs.  Though  the  noise  of  Gertrude's 
various  suitors  from  the  dining-room  makes  him 
grind  his  teeth,  and  the  Comte  de  Pichoir's  voice  ex- 
claiming, "Ma  chere,  Mademoiselle  Hammond,  a 
coronet  would  look  charming  on  your  classic  brow," 
causes  him  to  snarl  like  a  terrier  who  sees  another 


154         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

dog  eyeing  his  bone,  the  dramatist  forces  himself  to 
keep  away  from  the  breakfast  table,  even  though  his 
appetite  is  good  and  his  sweetheart's  eyes  grace  the 
repast.  With  himself  he  is  communing  anxiously: 
"I  must  prevent  this  Daniel  Webster  Bosenbaum,  who 
would  apparently  also  make  my  Mignonette  his  vic- 
tim, asserting  his  rights  as  the  spouse  of  Armande. 
M  on  Dieu,  it  would  affect  that  grand  actress's  nerves 
so  she  would  not  be  able  to  do  justice  to  Calypso  to- 
night." Here  a  further  consideration  sends  an  addi- 
tional cold  chill  through  the  author.  "Perhaps  this 
fiend  will  claim  her  salary  under  his  rights  of  hus- 
band. Then  Armande  will  not  act  at  all;  and,  diable, 
there  is  no  understudy !"  he  moans.  "In  some  way  I 
must  get  the  great  artiste  out  of  the  house  before  the 
monster  Eosenbaum  recognizes  his  wife  and  knows 
her  salary  is  within  his  avaricious  clutch." 

Alarmed  by  this  idea,  he  runs  up  the  stairway  to 
the  floor  above  and  raps  desperately  on  Armande's 
door. 

"You  can't  come  in  now,  Ambigue,"  shouts  the 
actress,  through  the  panel.  "I  am  en  dishabille  and 
busy  with  my  maid  packing  my  trunks !" 

"Packing  her  trunks!"  he  shudders.  "The  poor 
creature  must  also  have  discovered  her  pursuing  hus- 
band is  in  the  house."  Therefore  he  commands  cau- 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         155 

tiously :  "Don't  wait  to  pack  them.  You  must  leave 
here  instantly.  I'll  have  a  carriage  at  the  street 
door!"  His  words  are  low  and  guarded,  though 
every  one  is  below  in  the  dining-room.  "You  must 
not  remain  another  minute.  You  must  leave  before 
they  come  upstairs.  I'll  be  back  here  on  the  instant." 

The  agitation  in  his  voice  causes  the  actress  to  in- 
quire nervously:  "What  do  you  fear?" 

But  Ambigue  hasn't  waited  for  her  words  and  is 
already  on  his  way  to  the  front  door.  He  darts  into 
the  Rue  de  Provence,  from  there  rushes  into  the  Rue 
de  la  Fayette,  and  very  shortly  returns  with  a  cab. 

Leaving  this  in  waiting,  he  glides  rapidly  into 
Madame  Perrique's  front  door  again.  There  is  no 
one  in  the  salons  or  hallways  except  Georgina,  who, 
being  disgusted  with  the  lack  of  masculine  attention 
her  childish  costume  produces,  has  left  the  dining- 
room  before  the  other  guests.  He  suddenly  reflects : 
"Little  girls  have  tongues."  Stepping  to  the  adoles- 
cent Mrs.  Horton,  he  astounds  her  by  saying: 
"Petite,  all  children  like  sweets,"  pulls  two  lumps  of 
sugar  from  his  pocket  and  presses  them  into  her 
hand.  As  she  gasps  in  indignation,  he  chucks  her  af- 
fably under  her  dimpled  chin  and  whispers:  "Not  a 
word  as  to  Armande,  little  one;  silence  and  discre- 
tion/' and  darts  from  her  mysteriously  up  the  stairs. 


156         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Horrors,  somebody  will  be  dangling  me  oa  their 
knees  next,"  half-sobs  the  juvenile  matron.  "What 
would  Jack  say  if  he  had  seen  that?"  She  shakes  her 
fist  at  the  retreating  Moliere  and  mutters:  "For 
this  I'll  tell  on  you  and  Armande,  sure !"  then  thinks 
sympathetically :  "Oh,  poor  Gertrude — and  this  fickle 
wretch  broke  plates  and  blacked  boots  for  her  this 
morning." 

But  Ambigue,  unaware  of  young  Mrs.  Horton's 
threats,  is  standing  at  the  actress's  door  and  rapping 
on  it.  It  is  immediately  opened  to  him,  and  Armande 
de  Millefleurs  appears  costumed  for  the  street.  She 
has  made  a  hasty  but  effective  toilette,  though  her 
cheeks  are  pale.  In  her  hurry  she  has  forgotten  to 
put  on  the  usual  touch  of  rouge. 

"The  carriage  is  at  the  door,  Mademoiselle  de 
Millefleurs,"  whispers  the  author,  an  anxiety  in  his 
voice  that  frightens  his  listener.  "I  have  my  eye  on 
an  apartment  that  will  suit  you  at  No.  80  Eue  de  la 
Fayette." 

"Yes ;  will  you  see  that  my  maid  brings  my  luggage 
with  her  after  me?"  The  actress  appears  eager  to 
go;  her  escort's  manner  convinces  her  he  fears  some 
outbreak  for  unpaid  board  from  Madame  Perrique. 

"Certainly,"  answers  Ambigue,  who,  impressed  by 
the  lady's  eagerness  to  depart,  reflects :  "Armande  has 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         157 

discovered  her  brutal  husband  is  about  to  claim  her. 
That's  the  reason  she  was  packing  her  trunks  to  fly 
secretly."  Then  noting  that  La  De  Millefleurs  is  very 
nervous,  the  dramatist's  blood  runs  cold  as  he  ejacu- 
lates :  "Morbleu,  you  are  not  going  to  be  sick  on  the 
first  night  of  my  play.  That  would  be  too  horrible !" 

"An  incident  occurred  this  morning,"  murmurs 
Armande,  "which  affected  my  nerves." 

"If  agitation  should  prevent  your  acting  to-night,  I 
am  a  ruined  author,"  he  shudders,  and  supports  her 
tenderly  down  the  long  stairway,  while  she,  reclining 
in  his  arms,  whispers :  "Dear  Ambigue,  sweet  Moliere, 
thanks  for  your  kind  attention.  I  don't  know  what  I 
would  have  done  without  my  young  genius !" 

"del,  by  the  way  Armande  clings  to  me,  this  ac- 
tress knows  from  rehearsal  my  play  will  be  a 
triumph !"  cogitates  the  modest  man  of  letters. 

"Calm  yourself,  great  artiste,"  he  observes  reassur- 
ingly. "Superb  creature,  grand  actress,  remember 
that  my  fate  hangs  on  you  to-night,  and  stiffen  your 
magnificent  spinal  column.  In  your  weak  state,  I 
shall  take  you  in  your  cab  to  your  new  lodgings.  I 
shall  make  all  arrangements  for  you." 

"Thank  you,"  she  says  gratefully.     "Please  pay 
the  cabman  for  me." 
-  "Certainly ;   give   me   your   pocketbook,"   answers 


158         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

Ambigue  briskly.  "Otherwise  the  hackman  would  not 
be  paid/'  he  thinks  sadly  as  he  supports  the  fascinat- 
ing Armande  from  the  front  door  and  places  her  care- 
fully into  the  hack,  stepping  in  beside  her. 

Consequently  Georgina,  who  has  seen  a  good  deal 
and  heard  some  of  this,  standing  in  the  big  empty 
salon  and  looking  out  of  the  window  into  the  street, 
giggles  maliciously:  "Great  thunder,  isn't  Ambigue 
sparking  the  actress  ?" 

Then  turning  about  and  seeing  Miss  Hammond, 
who  has  taken  advantage  of  Madame  Perrique's  in- 
junction to  wander  from  the  masculine  compliments 
and  attentions  of  the  breakfast  table,  young  Mrs. 
Horton  calls:  "Hi,  Gertie,  come  here!  Just  take  a 
peep  and  see  him  put  her  in  her  carriage." 

"Who?"  asks  Miss  Hammond,  with  the  curiosity 
of  youth. 

"Ambigue !  His  old  coat  rips  under  the  shoulder 
as  he  fairly  lifts  that  stunning  Armande  de  Mille- 
fleurs  into  the  hack  and  arranges  the  skirts  about  her 
charming  figure  like  a  regular  Don  Caesar  de  Bazan." 

"I  am  not  interested,"  remarks  Miss  Hammond, 
haughtily. 

"But  you  ought  to  see  Moliere.  How  gallantly, 
how  lovingly  he  plays  the  cavalier — just  like  my  Jack 
used  to  do  to  me."  Peering  out  of  the  window,  Geor- 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          159 

gina  doesn't  notice  that  the  young  lady  standing  be- 
hind her  grows  extremely  pale  and  puts  a  hand  to  a 
wildly  beating  heart.  "Oh,  jingo/*  she  continues,  ex- 
citedly, "he — he's  getting  into  the  carriage  beside 
Armande !" 

"No,  no,  impossible!"  and  Gertrude,  refuting  her 
own  words,  glides  to  the  window  and  looks  out  to  see 
a  distracting  sight. 

"I  knew  curiosity  would  fetch  you,"  giggles  the 
young  Mrs.  Horton. 

But  the  other,  unheeding  her,  is  shuddering  to 
herself:  "They  are  driving  away  together.  Oh,  in 
Paris  this  means  so  much — alone  in  a  carriage  with 
this  actress — and  he  had  just  left  my  arms."  For 
curiously,  tete-a-tete  carriage  exercise  in  the  French 
capital  with  a  lady  does  indicate  more  intimate  re- 
lations than  in  most  other  cities.  Then  trying  to 
defend  the  man  of- her  heart,  she  says  to  Georgina: 
"Monsieur  Ambigue's  attentions  to  the  actress  are 
not  at  all  remarkable.  As  an  author,  he  wishes  to 

have  her  good-  will.  She  plays  in  his ."  Here 

remembering  Moliere's  warning,  Gertrude  abruptly 
checks  her  words. 

"Oh,  trying  to  defend  him,  my  poor  Gertie." 
Young  Mrs.  Horton  puts  her  arms  around  her  more 
dignified  companion. 


1GO         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 
"Poor  Gertie !"  echoes  Miss  Hammond,  indignant- 

iy. 

"Yes,  I  always  sympathize  with  any  girl  when  her 
chap  does  the  right-about-face  on  her." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  your  horrid  slang?" 

"Oh,  I  mean  Ambigue  is  head  over  ears  in  love 
with  this  actress." 

"Nonsense !" 

"Yes  he  is.  If  my  Jack  treated  me  in  that 
way " 

"Your  Jack?" 

"Yes — yes,  my  brother." 

"Pish,  your  Jack  is  either  not  your  brother  or 
you're  a  greater  fool  about  your  brother  than  I  ever 
saw  a  girl  before,"  asserts  Miss  Hammond,  made 
angry  by  the  stings  Georgina  has  inflicted  both  on 
her  love  and  her  pride. 

"I  am  not  such  a  noodle  as  you  are !"  retorts  Geor- 
gina, sturdily.  "Why,  everyone  in  the  house  knows 
Ambigue  is  crazy  about  the  great  De  Millefleurs." 

"No,  no!" 

"Yes  he  is.  You're  too  proud  to  listen  or  to  look, 
but  I'm  not.  I  saw  him  only  two  minutes  ago  in  the 
hall  as  he  brought  Armande  down  the  stairs  to  the 
carriage,  literally  carrying  her  in  his  arms.  She  was 
saying  to  him :  'Dear  Ambigue ;  sweet  Moliere,'  and 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          161 

he  was  whispering:  'Grand  actress,  magnificent  ar- 
tiste/'- Here  the  narrator  brings  additional  con- 
sternation and  sorrow  to  Miss  Hammond  by  assert- 
ing: "I  heard  Moliere  tell  Armande  her  backbone 
was  the  finest  in  the  world.  How  did  he  know  that  ?" 

"Oh,  my  heaven !"  shudders  Gertie  at  this  astound- 
ing and  peculiar  information. 

"Have  a  little  backbone  yourself!"  counsels  Geor- 
gina,  stoutly  j  for  Miss  Hammond  has  sunk  into  a 
chair. 

Tears  have  come  into  Gertrude's  brown  eyes.  She 
is  abstractedly  wiping  them  with  the  handkerchief 
Moliere  had  placed  in  her  hand.  Suddenly  perceiving 
it  is  a  lady's.mouc/iotr  and  monogrammed  "A.  de  M." 
she  gasps :  "And  he  had  the  audacity  to  wipe  my  eyes 
with  her  souvenir !''  The  lace  trifle  is  thrown  to  the 
floor  and  stamped  beneath  Gertie's  pretty  feet. 

"That's  right,  get  good  and  angry.  Now  make 
your  young  man  jealous,  that's  the  proper  way,'' 
whispers  the  youthful  matron. 

"Jealous!'''  sneers  the  tortured  one,  trying  to  ap- 
pear indifferent.  In  her  heart  she  knows  she's  too 
unhappy  to  think  of  making  any  one  else  unhappy. 

"Well,  that's  the  way  to  do  it.  That's  the  way  I 
brought  my  Jack  to  terms,"  laughs  Georgina.  "Now 
he  simply  adores  me." 


162         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Stop  torturing  me,"  commands  Miss  Hammond, 
"or  I'll  tell  Madame  Perrique  what  you  say  about 
your  Jack,  a  brother  who  is  jealous." 

But  Georgina  has  run  away  shuddering.  "Great 
Crystal  Palace,  don't  tell  her  that!  Don't  tell  her 
that!" 

Looking  after  her,  the  bereft  girl  sighs:  "Pish,  it 
is.  not  this  child  enrages  me.  It's  my  jealous  love." 
But  still  tormenting  herself,  she  sighs :  "My  Heaven, 
if  he's  untrue  ?  I  have  given  him  all  I  have  to  give — 
my  heart;  and  he — he  breaks  it.  From  the  very 
clinging  of  my  arms,  he  sprang  up  and  called  this  ac- 
tress's name.  Now  he's  gone  with  her  privately, 
secretly,  alone,  as  lovers  do  in  Paris.  Oh,  God  for- 
give him !" 

Overcome  with  the  misery  of  Gaspard's  perfidy, 
Miss  Hammond  sinks  into  a  chair  once  more  and 
tears  again  dim  her  bright  eyes,  though  she  wipes 
them  with  her  own  handkerchief. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

I'VE  LOST  YOU — THAT  IS  THE  END  OF  ME. 

But  Mr.  Rosenbaum's  and  Madame  Perrique's  busi« 
ness  conference  has  for  the  moment  deprived  Miss 
Gertie  of  her  new  mother's  prying  eyes  and  watchful 
guardianship  to  prevent  amatory  attacks. 

Miss  Hammond  is  alarmed  by  a  voice  whispering: 
"del,  tears !  Are  they  for  me,  dear  one  ?"  and  finds 
her  hands  ardently  assaulted  by  kisses  from  the  young 
Comte  de  Pichoir. 

She  starts  up  astounded  and  indignant,  but  the 
young  boulevardier,  whose  ethics  are,  "A  woman 
alone  is  always  a  woman  to  be  made  love  to,"  still 
holds  her  delicate  white  member.  Despite  her  flutter- 
ing struggles,  he  observes  complacently:  'That's 
right.  A  proper  modesty  is  always  becoming  in  a 
young  girl.  Your  diffidence  has  prevented  you  from 
thanking  me  personally  for  my  present  this  morn- 
ing, I  presume.  I  noticed  your  guardian's  eyes  were 
on  you  all  the  time;  but  now  we  are  alone  I  offer 
you,  not  only  the  heart,  but  the  hand  of  the  Comte  de 
163 


164         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

Pichoir.  My  title  dates  from  Louis  the  Eleventh. 
I  move,  not  only  in  the  court  circle  of  the  Empire, 
but  in  those  of  the  ancient  noblesse  in  the  Faubourg 
Saint  Germain.  So,  of  course,  you  will  consider  none 
of  the  parvenu  propositions  of  marriage  from  these 
canaille,  whom  I  don't  even  dignify  by  the  title  of 
rivals.  I  offer  you  the  honored  name  of  Pichoir." 

"Monsieur  le  Comte,"  answers  Gertrude,  plucking 
her  hand  from  him  and  growing  haughty  at  his  per- 
sistence, "in  your  rank  and  class,  I  believe  it  is  cus- 
tomary for  the  bride  to  furnish  a  dot.  I  have  noth- 
ing. Even  this  poor  dress  is  a  present  from  Madame 
Perrique." 

"Ah,  yes,  I  understand,"  observes  the  young  man 
in  mocking  unbelief.  "But  you  are  an  Americaine." 

"Yet  some  Americans  are  poor,"  rejoins  the  girl, 
"and  I  am  one  of  them." 

"And  like  to  be  loved  as  poor,"  whispers  Henri, 
thinking  of  the  letter  he  has  in  his  pocket.  "There- 
fore, I  tell  you  that  I  adore  you,  dear  Mademoiselle. 
Pauper  that  you  are,  I  worship  you."  He  sinks  upon 
his  knee  before  her,  and,  seizing  her  hand  again,  de- 
spite her  struggles,  covers  it  with  ardent  kisses,  for 
the  maiden  is  so  beautiful  that  passion  makes  the 
young  fortune  hunter  forget  even  avarice. 

But  at  this  moment  there  is  a  hasty  step  behind 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          165 

them.  A  strong  hand  is  inserted  in  the  collar  of  the 
kissing  boulevardier.  He  is  half  dragged  to  his  feet, 
then  thrown  into  a  chair.  Between  him  and  the 
young  lady  stands  Ambigue,  returned  from  placing 
Armande  in  her  new  lodging.  To  his  sweetheart  he 
remarks,  reassuringly:  "Have  no  fear,  my  Gertrude, 
from  this  fortune  hunter." 

"Fortune  hunter !"  stammers  the  astonished  demoi- 
selle. 

But  Moliere,  not  answering  her,  advances  threaten- 
ingly towards  the  scowling  Count,  and  says:  "When 
you  address  this  young  lady  again,  Monsieur,  remem- 
ber she  has  an  affianced  who  will  protect  her." 

"I  will  address  you,  sir,"  answers  the  young  man, 
haughtily,  "in  another  way.  I  am  the  Comte  de 
Pichoir." 

"Pish !"  jeers  the  bohemian. 

"I  said  Pich-otr,"  replies  the  noble,  angrily. 

"Waugh!"  laughs  Ambigue,  merrily. 

"Monsieur  makes  fun  of  me — but  to-morrow  morn- 
ing in  the  Bois  de  Bolougne/' 

"If on.  Dieu!"  This  is  a  sigh  of  terror  from  the 
frightened  Gertrude. 

"Before  you  challenge  me,  Monsieur  le  Comte," 
remarks  Moliere,  "ask  The  Elder  Sarnac,  with  whom 
I  fence  in  the  Salle  Lepelletier,  what  he  thinks  your 
chances  will  be  of  living." 


166          "A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Didble,  you  cross  swords  with  The  Elder  Sarnac?" 
mutters  Pichoir,  astounded. 

"Yes;  sometimes  before  the  divine  L'homme  Mas- 
que drives  Paris  crazy  with  his  Ajax  figure  and  un- 
conquered  wrestling.  It  is  only  a  suggestion,"  grins 
the  bohemian. 

"But  a  noble  like  me  cannot  meet  one  of  the  bour- 
geoisie," replies  the  Count,  in  haughty  reflection. 
Though  he  is  not  a  coward,  he  doesn't  particularly 
care  to  be  spitted  by  this  out-at-elbows  fellow  who 
is  in  the  habit  of  crossing  blades  with  The  Elder 
Sarnac,  a  maitre  d'armes  famed  as  the  deadliest 
swordsman  in  all  Paris. 

"Bourgeoisie !"  breaks  out  the  dramatist,  enraged 
at  this  sneer  in  the  presence  of  the  being  he  adores. 
"The  only  low  thing  about  me,  Monsieur,  is  my 
pocket."  The  scribbler's  bearing  is  that  of  the  old 
regime.  "You,  a  paltry  Count,  dare  to  turn  up  your 
nose  at  me.  Before  the  Revolution,  my  family  was 

."  Ambigue's  manner  is  now  tremendous. 

Then  he  pauses  and  utters  brokenly:  "But,  no,  I'll 
not  announce  my  title  when  I  haven't  a  decent  coat  to 
my  back.  A  prince  should  not  stick  his  toes  through 
the  holes  of  his  boots." 

Monsieur  Ambigue's  grandiloquence  is  greeted  by 
a  chorus  of  laughter.  In  pursuit  of  Gertrude,  have 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          167 

entered  a  number  of  her  admirers.  The  English 
sporting  man  guffaws :  "A  prince  ?  Blow  my  eyes,  he 
wears  the  clothes  of  a  costermonger !" 

But  Rousette,  who  has  come  with  them,  laughs: 
"You  mean*  the  clothes  of  an  author  with  an  unpro- 
duced  drama." 

"Or  that  of  a  potentate  who  has  lived  in  the  slums 
so  long  he  has  forgotten  his  title,"  grins  the  Comte 
de  Pichoir. 

To  this,  Ambigue  rejoins:  "Every  French  noble- 
man isn't  hunting  American  heiresses  for  their 
money." 

This  elicits  another  shriek  of  unbelieving  laughter. 
Just  about  this  time  numerous  titled  proteges  of  the 
Empire  have  been  eagerly  seeking  several  American 
beauties  with  very  large  dowers. 

Pride  now  vanquishes  prudence;  Ambigue  breaks 
out:  "But  still  to-morrow  morning,  if  my  play  is  a 
success  I  shall  not  be  ashamed  to  proclaim  my  name  !'* 

"Your  play?  Oho,  diable,  what  play?"  guffaws 
Rousette.  "There  is  only  one  drama  to  be  produced 
to-night,  and  that's  at  my  theatre." 

"  Tis  my  play  that  shall  to-night  make  the  fortune 
of  your  theatre !"  observes  Ambigue  in  modest  proph- 
ecy. 

"Thunder  of  God,  the  mountebank  is  crazy!"  as- 
serts the  manager,  and  all  laugh  uproariously. 


168  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Ah,  grinning  fiends,  you  doubt!  If  any  of  you 
poltroon  fortune  hunters  dare " 

"Fortune  hunters!"  This  is  an  exclamation  from 
them  all.  They  wonder  how  he  guesses. 

But  he,  unheeding  them,  cries:  "Here,  take  my 
cards !"  and  pulls  from  his  pocket  a  handsome  ports 
monnaie  embossed  with  a  glittering  monogram.  "No. 
not  this  one,"  he  laughs,  "but  this  one,"  and  pro- 
ducing a  dilapidated  pocketbook,  throws  it  on  the 
table:  "Help  yourselves,  those  who  wish  to  cross 
swords  with  me.  Sarnac  will  act  as  my  second !" 

Fortunately,  Ambigue  is  too  busy  about  his  de- 
fiance to  notice  the  cruel  effect  of  the  porte  monnaie, 
which  he  now  holds  in  his  hand,  upon  his  sweetheart. 
Miss  Hammond  notes  its  monogram,  "A.  de  M.,"  in 
big  gold  letters,  trembles,  and  with  a  reproachful 
sigh  sinks  overcome  into  a  chair. 

But  this  challenge  in  the  presence  of  the  girl  whom 
all  wish  to  win,  makes  the  fortune  hunters  defiant. 
The  Comte  de  Pichoir  thrusts  daintily  his  fingers 
into  the  dilapidated  pocketbook.  Gazing  at  it,  he 
looks  astounded,  then  grins:  "Didble,  this  isn't  a 
prince's  card,  but  an  author's  ticket  for  your  theatre 
to-night,  Eousette." 

"Blow;  my  eyes,  he's  a  rum  one ;  so's  mine !"  guf- 
faws the  English  betting  man,  who  has  grabbed  an- 
other. 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          169 

"Mashallah  /"  exclaims  the  Turk,  "I'll  use  mine  to- 
night. It's  for  a  seat  in  the  orchestra/'  and  he  puts 
it  into  his  pocket. 

To  this,  Paul,  who  has  been  inspecting  the  paste- 
boards placed  under  his  eyes,  suddenly  ejaculates  in 
a  dazed  voice :  "Great  Heavens,  they  are  genuine.  I 
issued  these  author's  tickets  to  the  Dramatic  Society 
myself." 

"Morbleu,  if  he's  the  author  of  the  play  that  is 
produced  anonymously  to-night  at  your  theatre, 
Rousette,  we'll  hiss  it,"  says  the  Count,  vindictively. 

Here  a  new  and  very  cruel  element  is  introduced 
into  the  scene.  Mr.  Eosenbeaum,  who  has  come 
quietly  in  from  his  conference  with  Madame  Perri- 
que,  followed  by  that  lady,  remarks  in  malicious 
craft :  "Under  the  circumstances,  it  may  not  be  nec- 
essary, Monsieur  Rousette,  to  produce  this  aspiring 
gentleman's  play  at  your  theatre  this  evening." 

"What  the  deuce  do  you  mean  ?"  asks  the  manager, 
eagerly. 

"Your  contract  may  not  compel  its  immediate  pro- 
duction," observes  the  lawyer,  astutely. 

Ambigue  gasps  for  breath !  A  despair  inflames  his 
eyes,  as  Rousette,  taking  up  the  subtle  suggestion, 
grins:  "Sacre  bleu,  gentlemen,  you  shan't  get  your 
chance  to  hiss  Calypso !" 


170         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Mon  Dieu,  what  do  you  mean?"  Trembling  ia 
every  limb,  Moliere  extends  imploring  hands. 

"What  do  I  mean?''  says  the  manager  in  arrogant 
power.  "I  mean  the  other  play  is  doing  well  enough. 
I'll  keep  the  old  one  on.  I'll  verify  this,  and  if  Am- 
bigue  is  the  author,  I'll  postpone  Calypso  for  a  year. 
Under  my  contract  I  have  that  right." 

"No,  no ;  mercy !"  The  appearance  of  the  dramat- 
ist proves  he  is  the  author  of  the  play.  He  cries  in 
piteous  fright :  "No,  no,  take  pity  on  my  play.  Spare 
my  one  hope  of  success  in  life.  Eousette,  you  are  not 
cruel  enough  for  that." 

"Ain't  I !"  answers  the  manager  in  brutal  sar- 
casm, as  he  departs  to  make  certain  at  the  Dramatic 
Authors'  Society,  thinking  to  himself :  "I'll  teach  this 
scribbler  to  jostle  me  for  the  hand  of  an  American 
heiress.  For  this,  I'll  postpone  this  scoundrel's  play 
till  he  dies  of  starvation.  He'll  never  get  another 
drama  on  if  it  is  known  that  on  the  day  of  produc- 
tion I  suddenly  refused  to  fulfill  my  contract  until 
the  very  expiration  of  my  time;  other  managers  will 
think  there  is  some  hidden  flaw  in  its  construction  or 
dialogue.  In  the  dramatic  business  we  all  run  in  a 
bunch.  The  author  one  produces,  the  others  produce. 
The  author  one  refuses,  the  others  refuse.  This 
failure  of  production  will  be  more  disastrous  to  Am- 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          171 

bigue  than  if  his  play  had  nevor  been  advertised  upon 
the  boulevards." 

But  this  is  only  the  beginning  of  misfortune  to  the 
unhappy  dramatist.  By  the  astute  suggestion  of  Mr. 
Rosenbaum,  his  play  is  being  destroyed;  now  he  is 
about  to  be  bereft  of  his  sweetheart. 

The  men  clustering  about  scowl  savagely  at  him, 
for  at  threatened  dramatic  disaster,  Miss  Hammond 
has  uttered  some  broken  words  of  sympathy  and 
turned  tender  eyes  upon  the  faltering  Gaspard,  whose 
hand  still  holds  the  pocketbook  of  Armande  de  Mille- 
fleurs.  Noting  this,  reproach  replaces  sympathy  in 
the  girl's  brown  orbs;  reminded  of  the  actress,  they 
begin  to  sparkle  indignantly.  Miss  Gertie  has  plenty 
of  spirit  and  she  is  very  angry  at  Gaspard's  amour 
with  another.  This  indignation  is  soon  stimulated 
tremendously. 

Grinning  at  the  success  of  his  crafty  suggestion  to 
the  theatrical  manager,  the  New  Orleans  lawyer  now 
remarks  to  the  gentlemen  Rousette  has  left  behind 
him:  "I  am  pleased  to  think  the  arrogance  of  this 
scribbler  will  be  chastised  by  the  non-production  of 
his  play.  But  after  what  I  shall  announce  to  you, 
under  the  instruction  and  at  the  demand  of  Madame 

Perrique "     Rosenbaum  pauses  to  give  effect  to 

his  words. 


172         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

They  already  have  a  terrible  potency  on  the  land- 
lady. Though  she  expects  them,  her  knees  knock 
together. 

"You  will  soon  agree  with  me,  gentlemen/'  con- 
tinues Daniel  Webster,  oratorically,  "that  you  have  a 
greater  cause  of  animosity  against  him  than  his  arro- 
gance. Of  course,  it  will  brand  you  all  as  fortune 
hunters." 

This  suggestion  is  not  received  placidly.  The 
Comte  de  Pichoir  exclaims  ferociously :  "Monsieur !" 
the  English  bookmaker  growls:  "Damn  yer  impu- 
dence !"  and  a  few,  including  the  Turk  and  the  Greek, 
expostulate  threateningly,  while  the  French  officer 
from  Mexico,  who  has  just  strolled  in  cries:  "Made- 
moiselle Hammond  will  not  believe  it  of  me,  though 
I  admit  my  adoration  for  her.  For  I  have  sworn  to 
marry  her!  And  you,  sir,  will  prove  your  words 
or " 

The  sabreur  looks  a  nasty  customer ;  though  Eosen- 
baum's  lips  tremble,  he  says  desperately :  "I'll  prove 
them!  Each  one  of  you  has  a  letter  addressed  to 
Miss  Alice  Ballard."  An  expression  of  startled  con- 
cern runs  over  their  faces.  "She  was  one  of  the  old 
pupils  of  Madame  Perrique,  who  is  entirely  innocent 

in  the  matter "  he  indicates  the  landlady,  whose 

agitation  is  as  great  as  that  of  any  one  in  the  room. 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          173 

"Each  epistle  you  gentlemen  have  in  your  pockets  ia 
signed  Gertrude  Eloise  Hammond/' 

Here  the  young  lady  mentioned  starts  and  gasps 
astoundedly:  "WHAT!" 

"It  states,"  continues  Daniel  Webster,  rapidly, 
"that  Gertrude  Hammond,  who  is  very  rich,  but  who 
is  afraid  of  being  pursued  and  married  for  her  great 
American  fortune,  is  of  a  romantic  temperament.  I 
think  I've  got  the  facts  straight  as  a  judge's  charge 
to  the  jury,  Madame  Perrique,"  he  interjects,  sarcas- 
tically. 

"Oh,  don't  mention  it  in  that  awful  way,"  shivers 
the  landlady. 

The  Comte  de  Pichoir,  with  a  muttered  oath  is 
fumbling  in  his  pocket. 

The  others  are  too  startled  and  disconcerted  to 
give  her  much  attention,  so  the  lawyer  goes  rapidly 
on:  "That  Miss  Gertrude  Hammond  being  of  a  very 
romantic  temperament,  wishes  to  be  loved  for  love 
only,  and  therefore  will  go  to  the  boarding-house  of 
Madame  Perrique,  her  old  school  teacher,  of  Number 
37  Eue  de  Provence,  and  pretend  to  be  very  poor  so 
that  some  Adonis  of  the  boulevards  may  adore  her 
for  herself  and  not  her  money.  It  is  signed  Gertrude 
Eloise  Hammond." 

"Gertrude  Eloise  Hammond!"   cries  that  young 


174          A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

lady,  starting  up.  "Good  heavens,  who  has  dared  to 
use  my  name  for  such  a  fraud." 

"Fraud!"  growls  the  English  bookmaker,  pulling 
out  his  letter  with  Anglo-Saxon  directness.  This  he 
shoves  under  the  agitated  maid's  eyes  and  demands: 
"Your  handwriting  ?" 

"No,"  answers  the  girl.  "That  isn't  my  signature. 
It's  an  outrageous  forgery !  Besides,  I'm  poor — poor 
as  the  birds  who  pick  their  living  from  the  grass  of 
the  Champs  Elysee.  Poor  to  starvation — you  saw 
me  when  I  came  in  helpless  to  Madame  Perrique's 
protecting  arms  that  night  from  the  streets  of  Paris." 

"Yes,  Gertie,  it  was  a  cruel  thing!"  falters  the 
landlady,  who  wishes  to  appear  as  innocent  as  pos- 
sible, and  is  now  more  anxious  than  ever  to  retain 
Miss  Hammond's  confidence.  "As  soon  as  I  discov- 
ered it,  I  directed  Mr.  Kosenbaum  to  explain." 

"And  who  used  my  name  for  this  degrading  con- 
spiracy?" Miss  Hammond's  spirit  is  in  her  eyes. 
She  stands  like  an  outraged  goddess.  Ambigue  shud- 
ders as  he  looks  upon  the  haughty  indignation  in  the 
face  he  loves. 

<(We  will  show  you  that  in  a  minute,  my  dear  young 
lady,"  observes  Rosenbaum,  briskly,  "if  these  gentle- 
men will  but  keep  quiet." 

For  the  dupes  producing  their  letters  are  compar- 


175 

ing  them,  uttering  exclamations  of  rage.  "The 
epistles  are  all  alike,"  asserts  the  Count.  "We  have 
all  been  done,  gentlemen." 

This  is  assented  to  by  a  savage  "Bishmillah  !"  from 
the  Turk. 

"Beware  of  the  law,  Madame  Perrique !"  threatens 
the  French  officer,  ferociously. 

But  the  New  Orleans  advocate  defends  the  trem- 
bling landlady,  remarking  soothingly :  "The  law  will 
not  touch  this  innocent  woman.  Neither  is  she  as- 
sailable by  you,  not  having  written  the  letters  and 
knowing  nothing  of  them  until  she  saw  their  peculiar 
effect  upon  you  fortune  hunters.  A  monster  invented 
that  ruse.  By  it  he  thought  to  gain  his  miserable 
bread !  For  when  his  bill  was  sent  him  by  his  inno- 
cent and  unfortunate  landlady,  he  turned  upon  her 
and  threatened  her  with  exposure.  Madame  Perri- 
que is  as  much  this  adroit  trickster's  victim  as  you 
are,  gentlemen."  Eosenbaum's  cat-like  eyes  turn 
upon  the  unfortunate  'Ambigue. 

A  good  deal  of  the  first  part  of  this  has  been 
wasted  upon  the  bohemian,  who  has  been  reduced  to 
a  sort  of  coma  by  the  cruel  accident  to  his  play. 
Ambigue  now  awakes,  and,  being  of  fighting  metal, 
retorts  vindictively:  "A  monster  is  now  addressing 
me!  You  are  a  monster.  You  stand  in  the  presence 


176         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

of  one  victim,  the  other  I  have  aided  to  fly  from 
you." 

"Ah,  you  confess  to  those  letters!"  cries  Daniel 
Webster,  not  permitting  the  conversation  to  linger  on 
himself.  "You,  by  writing  those  letters,  you — 
Moliere  Shakespeare  Ambigue — have  made  this  sweet 
girl,  in  her  innocence,  the  bait  for  this  crowd  of  for- 
tune hunters.  You  tricked  all  these  men  to  come 
here  by  these  forged  epistles,  bearing  the  name  of 
innocence,  beauty — and  poverty!" 

A  growl  of  rage  and  muttered  threats  arise  from 
the  surrounding  men;  but  over  their  anathemas  is 
heard  the  horrified  voice  of  Miss  Hammond. 

"No,  no !"  she  screams.  "I  can't  believe — Gaspard 
— I  can't  believe !"  Then  her  tone  is  low  in  sad  en- 
treaty. "You  couldn't  have  done  this  dastard  thing 
with  the  name  of  one  you  pretend  to  adore." 

"Pretend?  I  do  adore!"  The  bohemian  would 
approach  her  to  plead  with  her,  but  she,  holding  up 
warning  hand,  says  proudly:  "Then,  of  course,  you 
didn't  invent  those  letters  that  have  made  these  men 
pursue  me  with  protestations  of  love  and  desire!" 

Her  sweetheart  cannot  answer  the  reproach  in  her 
eyes,  and  hangs  his  head  before  the  indignant  anguisB 
of  his  Mignonette. 
"Tell  me,  in  the  name  of  manhood,"  she  implores, 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          177 

"have  you  made  me  the  lure  for  these  wretches,'' 
for  the  appearance  of  Madame  Perriqu^'s  boarders 
as  they  compare  their  letters  and  utter  execrations 
justifies  her  term. 

"I "  Moliere's  voice  is  very  faint;  then  sud- 
denly he  droops  his  head,  and  murmurs:  "Alas!  I 
did." 

"Oh,  shame!"  shudders  Gertrude,  and  staggers 
from  him. 

"But  innocently!"  he  half  shrieks.  "Till  I  saw 
you  the  blessed  night  you  came  in  that  door  help- 
less, I  only  knew  that  I  loved  one  whom  I  had 
christened  Mignonette." 

"Then  how  did  you  obtain  my  true  name  ?" 

"From  the  roll  book  of  Madame  Perkins'  board- 
ing-school stored  up  in  the  garret  where  I  live  with 
the  rats." 

This  mention  of  the  privations,  poverty  and  loneli- 
ness of  the  once  dashing  Gaspard  produces  a  tender 
flutter  in  the  heart  of  Mignonette.  "Oh,  how  I  would 
like  to  believe  you,"  she  sighs.  Perhaps  she  might 
forgive  him,  but,  seeing  Armande's  pocketbook  in 
his  hand,  she  murmurs  in  broken  voice:  "There  are 
other  things!  Oh,  Heavens,  that  actress,  the  De 
Millefleurs." 

"Of  course !  He  had  assignations  with  her !"  ob- 
serves Madame  Perrique,  severely. 


178         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"He's  enamored  of  her  spinal  column!"  asserts 
Georgina,  who  has  stolen  in  from  the  outerhall,  from 
which  she  has  been  enjoying  the  fracas. 

"False  in  one,  false  in  all.  Good-hye !"  Miss  Ham- 
mond turns  haughtily  away. 

Gazing  upon  her,  the  dramatist  mutters  in  morose 
philosophy:  "Ah,  fickle,  fickle,  fickle!  And  yet  you 
would  not  be  a  woman  unless  you  were  fickle !" 

"Fickle,"  cries  the  girl,  "when "    Indignation 

blazes  in  her  eyes. 

"Don't  listen  to  him,  Gertie,"  says  young  Mrs. 
Horton,  vindictively,  remembering  the  chuck  under 
the  chin.  "I  saw  him  have  Armande  in  his  arms 
and  she  caressed  him  and  called  him  'dear  Ambigue' 
and  'sweet  Moliere !'  * 

"Bah,  baby !  'twas  but  the  innocent  embrace  of 
grand  actress  to  great  author,"  mutters  Moliere,  fero- 
ciously. 

A  mocking  jeer  from  the  assembly  greets  this. 

With  an  unbelieving,  melancholy  sigh,  Miss  Ham- 
mond turns  to  Madame  Perrique  and  whispers: 
"Take  me  from  the  room.  These  men's  faces  make 
me  ashamed — this  man's  most  of  all." 

"You  won't  believe !"  This  is  a  cry  from  Ambigue's 
breaking  heart. 

"How  can  I  when,  with  the  words  of  love  to  me 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          179 

on  your  very  lips,  you  sprang  from  my  side  to  take 
this  actress  surreptitiously  to  her  new  lodgings; 
when  now  you  come  back  even  carrying  her  purse.  I 
don't  pretend  to  be  a  woman  of  the  world,"  falters 
Gertrude,  "but  I  know  enough  to  make  me  doubt  the 
love  I  thought  was  mine." 

"I  warn  you !"  cries  her  lover,  in  affrighted  voice, 
"I  warn  you!  This  man  who  has  persecuted  you, 
who  has  made  you  starve  in  Paris,  has  your  guard- 
ian's ear " 

His  oration  is  interrupted  by  Alphonse  coming 
hurriedly  in  and  giving  into  Ambigue's  hand  a  paper, 
saying :  "From  the  manager  of  the  Theatre  Cluny." 

A  shudder  racks  the  dramatist's  frame.  The  last 
straw  has  fallen  upon  Moliere  Shakespeare  Ambigue. 
He  bows  his  head  and  laughs  jeeringly:  "It  never 
showers  but  it  rains.  It  is  from  Eousette.  My  play 
is  postponed  for  a  year.  I'll  starve  to  death  before 
that  time!  It  is  his  right  under  the  contract;  the 
revenge  of  the  manager." 

The  agony  in  the  voice  she  still  loves  is  so  startling 
that  Miss  Hammond,  who  is  being  supported  from 
the  room  by  her  new  mother,  suddenly  turns  and 
gasps :  "Oh,  Ambigue,  your  destroyed  play !" 

"Oh,  that's  a  mere  trifle,  a  bagatelle,  a  nothing!" 
scoffs  the  bohemian,  with  a  yellow  laugh.  "I  have 


180         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  QAEEET 

lost  your  love,  Mignonette;  I  have  lost  you!  What 
else  matters  to  Ambigue,  the  bohemian.  If  you  trust 
this  man  more  than  me/'  he  points  to  the  suave  Eosen- 
baum,  "take  him ;  let  him  guard  you !  If  you  trust 
that  woman/'  his  finger  is  directed  to  Perrique, 
"more  than  me,  let  her  guide  your  way  in  life.  But 
there  will  be  no  heart  wish  you  greater  good,  grander 
happiness  and  more  supreme  joy  than  that  of  Moliere 
Shakespeare  Ambigue,  who  to-night  had  hoped  to  be 
a  man  of  fame,  successful  in  his  play  and  happy  in 
his  love,  but  who  is  again  a  penny-a-liner,  slaving  to 
keep  body  and  soul  together,  and  wishing  body  and 
soul  were  divorced  because  he  has  a  broken  heart. 
I've  lost  you!  I  have  lost  you!  That's  the  end  of 
me!" 

He  dashes  from  the  room  and  out  of  the  house. 

His  despair  has  softened  the  haughty  heart  of 
Mignonette;  she  struggles  from  Madame  Perrique 
and  calls  faintly,  "Gaspard !" 

Then,  as  the  front  door  closes  with  an  awful  bang, 
she  falls  half-swooning  into  the  arms  of  the  woman 
who  now  has  over  her  the  authority  of  mother,  and  is 
prepared  to  grimly  and  austerely  assert  it. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MISS  GERTIE  VISITS  THE  AMERICAN  CONSUL. 

The  door  closing  on  Ambigue  has  a  very  pleasing 
sound  to  the  crafty  Kosenbaum.  At  the  noise  he 
winks  his  eye  and  favors  himself  with  this  astound- 
ing observation:  "By  gum,  Fve  won  her — and  her 
fortune,  too!" 

Almost  immediately  after  this,  Madame  Perrique 
wisely  leads  her  adopted  ward  to  her  bedroom.  The 
sight  of  the  snarling  throng  seems  to  cover  with  un- 
utterable shame  the  young  lady  who  had  been  their 
lure.  Their  hostess  is  also  by  no  means  sorry  to  es- 
cape from  contact  with  her  guests,  for  nearly  all  of 
her  boarders  are  demanding  the  return  of  a  portion  of 
the  exorbitant  prices  exacted  from  them. 

After  another  short  business  interview  with  his 
hostess,  the  lawyer,  coming  downstairs,  announces  to 
her  guests  that  in  her  trouble  their  landlady  has  en- 
gaged him  to  act  for  her  legally.  With  this  he  goes 
about  among  Perriqu6's  growling  boarders  trying  to 
show  them  all  how  helpless  they  are  in  the  matter  and 
181 


182         TA  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

occasionally,  in  strict  confidence,  paying  grudgingly 
to  the  more  threatening  a  portion  of  their  demands. 
Though  the  officer  from  Mexico,  who  is  a  very  nasty 
fellow,  makes  such  ferocious  threats  to  Mr.  Eosen- 
baum,  that  he  is  compelled  to  practically  return  him 
all  the  money  he  had  expended  in  Madame  Perrique's 
house,  a  very  extraordinary  transaction,  as  Bosen- 
baum  doesn't  usually  liquidate  other  people's  finan- 
cial obligations. 

Already  a  good  many  of  the  dupes  are  going 
gloomily  away,  though  a  few,  anxious  to  get  the  worth 
of  their  money,  will  remain  till  their  terms  of  lodging 
have  expired. 

"We  will  have  all  these  scalawags  out  in  a  day  or 
two,"  thinks  the  lawyer,  contentedly.  "Appreciating 
the  poor  figure  they  would  cut  in  court  and  how  they 
would  be  ridiculed  in  the  journals,  these  lambs  will 
be  very  dumb  under  their  shearing.  In  a  little  time, 
Madame  Perrique",  using  her  authority  as  her  mother, 
will,  French  fashion,  give  the  girl  to  me  as  my  bride, 

and  then ."    Mr.  Eosenbaum's  eyes  flash  through 

his  glasses.  Miss  Hammond's  blushes  and  confusion 
during  the  last  pathetic  scene  have  increased  her 
ethereal  loveliness  to  his  gloating  eyes.  "It  will  not 
only  be  booty,  but  beauty !"  fervidly  thinks  this  legal 
buccaneer,  an  expression  dominating  his  face,  which, 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          183 

did  Gertie  but  see  it,  would  add  to  her  embarrassed 
shame. 

But  Eosenbaum's  thoughts  are  not  all  couleur  de 
rose.  The  landlady's  naturally  suspicious  tempera- 
ment has  been  increased  by  a  life  of  hard  experience. 
To  obtain  her  co-operation,  the  lawyer  has  been  com- 
pelled to  make  her  certain  explanations  and  to  prom- 
ise definitely  to  her  a  considerable  fixed  sum  upon,  as 
he  expresses  it,  "the  delivery  of  the  goods."  Madame 
Perrique  being  no  fool,  this  has  been  practically  un- 
avoidable, though  Eosenbaum  doesn't  like  it.  He 
would  have  vastly  preferred  to  have  kept  a  secret 
pertaining  to  Miss  Hammond  entirely  in  his  posses- 
sion until  he  could  whisper  it  to  his  bride  with  a  hus- 
band's authoritative  voice.  Still,  with  considerable 
confidence1  he  cogitates:  "Perrique  shall  establish  her 
boarding-school  again.  Under  academic  discipline,  it 
will  seem  perfectly  natural  and  also  be  extremely 
easy  for  her  legal  mother  to  seclude  my  Gertrude 
from  all  masculine  attentions  till  she  is  put  into  her 
nuptial  dress  and  turned  over  to  yours  truly." 

In  this  astute  scheme,  the  lawyer  would  probably 
be  successful ;  but  to  prove  his  ability  to  carry  out  his 
promise  of  liquidating  Madame  Perriqu^'s  lease  of 
the  big  house  in  the  Eue  de  Provence,  he  had  been 
compelled  to  show  where  the  ready  money  will  come 


184         'A  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET 

from  to  the  landlady,  who  had,  notwithstanding  hia 
threats  of  exposure,  at  first  scoffed  at  and  refused  his 
plan.  This  he  had  only  been  able  to  do  by  revealing 
to  her  that  certain  moderate  funds  had  been  for- 
warded to  the  American  Consul  in  Paris  for  Miss 
Hammond's  use. 

"All  you  have  got  to  do  is,  in  a  few  days,  to  obtain 
your  daughter's  signature  to  an  order  for  this  money. 
Then  I  will  collect  it  for  you,  and  you  can  credit  it 
to  me  on  account  of  what  I  have  promised  you,"  he 
has  advised.  "Having  the  authority  of  Miss  Ham- 
mond's legal  mother,  that  will  not  be  difficult  for  you 
to  do." 

At  first,  Madame  Perrique  had  not  believed  Rosen- 
baum's  assertion  that  money  was  coming  to  this  girl, 
who  had  wandered  to  her  starving  from  the  streets 
of  Paris.  To  convince  her  the  lawyer  had  been  com- 
pelled to  exhibit  documents  he  didn't  wish  to  show. 
But  once  assured  of  the  fact  that  her  adopted  daugh- 
ter had  funds  due  to  her,  Suzanne  had  answered 
promptly:  "Don't  fear,  I'll  get  Gertrude's  signature. 
Her  only  waywardness  up  to  this  time  has  been  her 
deceitful  passion  for  this  beggarly  scribbler,  whom 
she  has  now  discarded.  My  charity  to  her  has  pro- 
duced her  love  and  confidence.  I  have  no  doubt  of 
her  obedience.  But  if  not'' — Madame  Perrique's  face 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          185 

is  that  of  the  stern  schoolmistress — "I'll  take  another 
way  with  her." 

With  this  she  departs  to  interview  her  adopted 
daughter,  hoping  to  find  her  lovely  charge  in  such  de- 
jection she  will  be  very  pliable. 

Eelieved  of  the  shame  of  enduring  the  glances  of 
the  crowd  of  scalawags  who  had  been  duped  by  the 
forged  letters  bearing  her  name,  Miss  Hammond,  in 
the  seclusion  of  her  little  bedroom,  would  be  in  better 
spirits,  did  not  Ambigue's  miserable  fate  appall  her: 
She  has  youth  and  health,  and  Gaspard's  last  kiss 
upon  her  lips  had  been  most  passionate !  She  begins 
to  reflect  on  the  light-hearted  lover  of  her  school 
days.  "The  poor  fellow  didn't  know  my  name  when 
he  forged  those  letters,"  she  thinks,  "consequently 
he  is  innocent  of  intentionally  degrading  me. 

"Since  I  came  here  a  morose  shame  has  at  times 
contorted  his  noble  face  when  he  has  seen  the  per- 
sistency of  these  miserable  creatures  in  their  attempts 
upon  my  heart.  His  attentions  to  Armande  might 
even  have  been  those  of  an  author  anxious  to  secure 
the  good  will  of  the  artiste  who  plays  the  leading 
role  in  his  drama  to-night.  But  that  will  never  be !" 
she  sighs.  "The  villainous  theatrical  manager  jealous 
of  the  poor  author,  because  I,  the  putative  American 
heiress  smiled  on  him,  has  destroyed  Gaspard's  play ! 


186         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

The  play  that  was  to  give  him  fame  and  gain  him 
money  enough  to  marry  me!  Alas,  that's  nonsense 
now — there  is  no  hope  for  either  of  us !  Yet,  oh,  it 
was  Heaven.  How  radiant  his  face  used  to  be  when 
he  kissed  the  violets  and  threw  them  to  me  in  the 
Eue  du  Kocher." 

She  is  so  distressed  about  Ambigue,  she  thinks  not 
of  Kosenbaum,  though  he  is  shortly  brought  forcibly 
to  her  mind  by  the  entry  of  Madame  Perrique  from 
consultation  with  the  lawyer.  Coming  to  the  little 
bedroom  where  the  girl  sits  despondently,  the  land- 
lady says  in  relieved  tones :  "Two-thirds  of  the  scoun- 
drels are  already  getting  out.  They  will  trouble  you 
no  longer,  my  poor  Gertie.  Good  riddance  to  bad 
rubbish.  After  all  is  over,  I  shall  again  open  my 
school  in  Paris.  In  its  academic  seclusion,  my  dear 
child,  you  will  be  apart  from  the  attentions  of  all 
aspiring  gallants."  The  new  mother's  tone  is  very 
maternal.  She  places  a  protecting  arm  about  her 
adopted  daughter's  slight  waist. 

This  prospective  dearth  of  gallants  doesn't  seem 
to  delight  Miss  Gerttrude  as  much  is  it  should.  Am- 
bigue's  kisses  still  pleasure  her  lips  and  the  thought 
that  there  will  be  no  more  of  them  makes  her  down- 
hearted. Tears  suffuse  her  eyes  and  she  responds  in 
listless  melancholy :  "I  don't  care  much  what  you  do 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         187 

with  me,  Madame  Perrique;  I'm — I'm  tired  of  even-- 
thing." 

"Ah,  but  we  will  have  hopes,"  says  the  landlady, 
encouragingly.  "Some  day,  in  the  future,  I  will 
select  a  husband  for  you.  Don't  think  such  beauty 
as  yours  will  be  allowed  to  blush  unseen  always,  my 
sweet  one." 

Madame  Perriqu6  kisses  her  effusively,  but  Ger- 
trude murmurs  petulantly :  "I  want  no  other  lovers !" 
then  sighs:  "I've — I've  had  enough  of  them." 

"Yes,  untrue  to  you  in  the  first  moment  of  his 
protestations.  Think  no  more  of  Gaspard !  For  that 
reason  we'll  move  as  soon  as  possible  from  this  house." 

Here  the  eager  avarice  of  Perrique's  disposition 
produces  an  untoward  complication  in  the  astute 
plot  of  Daniel  Webster  Eosenbaum.  She  speaks  be- 
fore he  planned  she  should. 

Thinking  that  the  girl  will  be  very  docile  in  this 
first  moment  of  dejection  at  Ambigue's  unfaith,  the 
new  mother  whispers  to  her  adopted  daughter :  "This 
loss  of  my  boarding-house  has  been  a  severe  financial 
blow  to  me.  Therefore,  I  am  sure,  my  dear  child, 
you  will  not  object  to  contribute  to  your  mainten- 
ance." 

"Certainly  not,  Madame  Perrique;  I'll  work  hard 
for  you  in  your  school,"  answers  the  girl,  eagerly. 


188         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Oh,  that  will  not  be  necessary.  I  shall  demand 
only  your  duty  and  obedience.  But  there  are  some 
few  dollars  that  await  you  at  the  American  Con- 
sul's." 

"Impossible  I"  exclaims  the  young  lady. 

"Yes,  they  came  from  your  uncle  in  California." 

"Oh,  God  bless  him — he  thought  of  me  at  last !" 

"It  is  but  a  trifle,"  remarks  Madame  Perrique,  to 
whom  Eosenbaum  has  not  imparted  the  whole  truth. 
"I  will  have  the  document  necessary  for  me  to  ob- 
tain it  drawn  up  and  you  will  sign  it  as  a  daughter 
would  for  a  mother." 

"I  will,"  replies  the  girl,  instantly  and  gratefully, 
delighted  to  be  able  to  aid  the  woman  who  has  in 
her  extremity  given  her  protection  and  a  home. 

"Thank  you,  my  sweet  child !" 

And  Madame  Perrique,  giving  Gertie  a  maternal 
buss,  goes  away  smilingly  to  prepare  the  document. 

But  when  she  returns,  some  quarter  of  an  hour 
afterwards,  she  is  astounded  to  find  the  room  empty. 
Looking  about  the  half-empty  house  among  her  few 
remaining  guests,  who  regard  her  with  no  pleasant 
eyes,  she  discovers  not  only  her  adopted  daughter 
absent,  but  that  neither  Alphonse  nor  Georgina  is 
in  the  salons  or  hallway. 

Suzanne  is  more  annoyed  than  alarmed  at  this. 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          189 

The  two  girls  have  probably  gone  for  a  stroll  in  the 
nearby  Pare  de  Monceau. 

She  meditates:  "Gertrude  was  doubtless  anxious 
to  get  away  from  the  few  men  left  in  my  house,  and 
Georgina  has  the  English  pedestrian  habit.  I  am 
glad  they  took  Alphonse  to  guard  them.  No  wonder 
he  was  ready  to  go.  Instead  of  giving  him  tips,  the 
departing  dupes  have  favored  the  poor  garqon  with 
curses,  and  that  awful  Englishman  threatened  to 
'hand  him  one  on  the  knob/  But  still  these  run- 
nings-out must  cease,  and  when  I  get  Gertie  into 
school  again,  I'll  give  the  minx  enough  lessons  to 
keep  her  nose  glued  to  her  exercise  book.  I  hope  the 
American  Consul  has  enough  to  start  my  boarding" 
school  well/'  For  no  thought  of  more  than  a  mod- 
erate amount  of  cash  coming  into  her  hands  through 
her  adopted  daughter  is  in  Madame  Perrique's 
imagination.  Mr.  Eosenbaum  hasn't  dared  to  tell 
his  avaricious  confrere*  what  mighty  hopes  he  has  in 
regard  to  Miss  Gertrude  Hammond. 

Consequently  meeting  the  smiling  lawyer  in  her 
hallway,  Suzanne  simply  says  that  Gertie  and  Geor- 
gina have  gone  for  a  walk;  and  with  the  document 
ready  for  Miss  Hammond's  signature,  she  awaits  the 
return  of  her  adopted  daughter. 

But  Madame  Perrique  would  be  perturbed  if  she 
knew  what  had  really  happened. 


190         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET, 

For  a  short  moment  after  her  guardian  had  left 
her,  Miss  Hammond  meditated  gratefully  on  the 
faraway  uncle  in  the  distant  land  of  gold.  Suddenly 
she  starts  up !  "Ambigue  is  starving !"  she  shudders. 
"He  is  in  despair  at  the  non-production  of  his 
drama."  Then  hope  flies  into  her  face ;  she  reflects : 
"A  little  money  would  give  him  the  chance  to  again 
fight  the  battle  of  life — a  little  money  would  perhaps 
keep  him  from  suicide.  I'll  go  to  the  American  Con- 
sul and  get  my  few  dollars  myself.  Gaspard  shall 
have  some  of  them.  Perhaps,  also,  there  will  be  a 
letter  from  my  uncle  with  words  of  encouragement 
for  me,  who,  he  must  now  know,  is  bereft  of  all  near 
relatives  but  him." 

She  has  no  money  to  hire  a  cab ;  but  she  rings  the 
bell  and  Alphonse  runs  up  very  readily  from  the  hall 
below,  for  the  departing  boarders  are  answering  his 
implorings  for  pour  boires  in  a  manner  that  makes 
the  gar<;on  fear  for  his  personal  safety. 

To  the  waiter  Gertrude  says:  "Alphonse,  will  you 
lend  me  money  enough  to  take  me  to  the  American 
Consul's?" 

The  gargon  looks  astounded  at  her.  He  doesn't 
like  to  lend  his  hard-earned  francs ;  but,  made  affable 
by  her  beauty  and  distress,  he  says  promptly:  "Yes, 
Mademoiselle;  I  can  get  a  cheap  cab." 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         191 

"You  can  go  with  me  now  to  the  American  Con- 
sul's. There  I  shall  receive  some  money,  and  I  can 
pay  you,"  remarks  the  girl. 

"Ah,  money ;  that  is  good.    From  where  ?" 

"From  America.  And  for  that  reason,  ask  Geor« 
gina  to  come  here.  She  can  identify  me,"  replies 
Miss  Hammond. 

To  her  Georgina  dashes  up  the  stairs,  muttering, 
tearfully:  "Why  doesn't  Jack  come  to  save  me  from 
insult?" 

"Why,  what's  the  matter?" 

"Matter!  Be — because  I  asked  that  Rosenbaum 
who  was  the  other  victim  that  Ambigue  said  was 
flying  from  him,  he  growled  at  me:  'Keep  a  dumb 
tongue,  child,  or  I'll  tell  Madame  Perrique  on  you. 
Reckon  she  don't  think  you  over  the  spanking  age.' 
Oh,  Gerty,  he  said  that  to  me.  Goodness,  why  doesn't 
Jack  come  and  get  me  into  long  dresses.  I  haven't 
the  money  to  send  a  telegram  to  him." 

"I  will  have  in  a  few  minutes,  if  you  will  go  with 
me  to  the  American  Consul's,"  half  laughs  Miss  Ham- 
mond. Though  she  has  no  idea  how  much  awaits 
her,  she  knows  there  is  some,  and  a  little  money 
seems  a  big  thing  to  one  who  has  been  penniless  so 
long. 

Whereupon,  the  two  girls  hastily  throw  on  their 


192         A  PRISCE  JLV  THE  GARRET 

wraps,  and,  Penique  being  busy  with  the  legal  docu- 
ment, they  glide  out  into  the  street  under  Alph 
escort  They  trip  hastily  to  the  Eue  de  la  Fayette, 
step  into  a  voiturc,  and  are  driven  off  to  the  office  of 
the  American  Consul  in  Paris,  an  official  to  whom 
Miss  Hammond  should  have  applied  when  first  mis- 
fortune ascended  upon  her  in  the  French  capital,  for 
no  American  girl  in  a  strange  land  has  a  better  and 
more  powerful  friend  than  her  own  Government,  if 
she  but  knew  it. 

Upon  reaching  the  headquarters  of  the  commercial 
agent  of  the  United  States  in  France  and  mention- 
ing her  name,  Miss  Hammond  is  almost  immediately 
shown  with  some  impressment  into  the  private  office 
of  the  American  Consul-General,  to  receive  at  first 
sorrow  and  then  to  find  the  world  at  her  feet. 

She  is  greeted  most  affably  by  the  representative 
of  beneficent  Uncle  Sam,  who  says :  "I  had  expected 
you.  my  dear  Miss  Hammond,  weeks  ago.  I  should 
have  asked  the  assistance  of  the  Bureau  de  Sur 
find  your  residence,  but  the  matter  was  left  in  the 
hands  of  a  Xew  Orleans  lawyer,  who  stated  that  he 
represented  your  interests,  and  had  means  of  finding 
your  address  and  communicating  with  you  in  Paris. 
He  has  some  letters  in  his  possession  that  indicate  he 
knew  your  father  in  Mississippi,  and  also  that  he  had 


193 

some  correspondence  from  your  late  uncle  in  Cali- 
fornia." 

"My  late  uncle !"  ejaculates  the  girl. 

"Yes.  I — I  presumed  you  knew  of  his  death, 
which  occurred  several  months  ago." 

Overcome,  Gertrude  sobs:  "He  was  the  only  one 
left  to  me.  I  have  never  seen  him  in  my  life.  He 
was  my  father's  brother,  Joseph  Prevost  Hammond." 

"Yes;  that's  the  name,"  remarks  the  Consul,  as- 
sisting the  weeping  girl  to  a  chair.  "I  fear  the  news 
has  been  a  shock  to  you.  I  hope  you  have  not  suffered 
any  inconvenience." 

Then,  noting  the  simplicity,  almost  to  poverty,  of 
the  lady's  costume,  Miss  Gertie  being  satisfactorily 
identified  to  him,  both  by  certain  information  that 
she  gives  him  that  would  probably  be  known  only  to  a 
member  of  her  family,  and  also  by  Alphonse  and  the 
juvenile  Mrs.  Horton,  who  states  that  they  have  been 
schoolgirls  together,  the  commercial  representative  of 
Uncle  Sam,  taking  her  upon  one  side,  addresses  her 
immediately  on  business  subjects. 

His  information  is  so  astounding,  Miss  Hammond 
gazes  upon  him,  dazed,  unbelieving,  trembling. 
Finally,  as  if  to  test  his  words,  she  asks,  eagerly: 

"Can  I  have  some  of  this  money  at  once  ?*' 

"Certainly;  the  banks  will  not  close  until  three. 


194         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

(Would  you  like  it  by  check,  or  shall  I  send  and  get 
you  the  bills?" 

"The  bills;  please." 

"How  much?" 

"Ten  thousand  francs !"  she  falters,  as  if  affrighted 
by  the  immensity  of  her  demand. 

"You  shall  have  them  in  five  minutes !" 

"Oh,  is  it  real  ?"  The  girl  presses  her  hands  to  her 
brow  as  if  astonishment  had  made  her  dizzy.  Then, 
suddenly,  she  whispers:  "Oh,  God,  I  thank  thee!" 
and  her  sweet  face  becomes  illuminated  with  such  a 
divine  light,  the  Consul,  who  has  seen  many  a  lovely 
woman  in  his  day,  thinks  the  young  lady  before  him 
is  the  most  beautiful  of  them  all ;  for  into  her  mind 
has  sprung :  "By  this,  I  can  do  a  great  thing  for  Am- 
bigue!" 


CHAPTEB  VUL 

THE    TRIUMPH   OF  THE   THEATRE   CLUHT. 

Then,  after  another  hurried,  but  pertinent  and 
astounding  conversation,  the  Consul  giving  her  some 
forcible,  yet  astute,  advice  in  regard  to  her  relation- 
ship to  Madame  Perriqu£,  and  stating  that  he  will 
do  himself  the  honor  to  call  upon  her  on  the  morrow, 
Miss  Gertrude  Hammond,  of  Mississippi,  is  escorted 
from  the  office  of  Uncle  Sam's  representative,  and 
placed  deferentially  in  her  rickety  cab  beside  the 
wondering  Georgina,  by  a  Xew  York  attache  of  ex- 
quisite raiment  and  Fifth  Avenue  air. 

Grazing  at  the  pretty  Americaine,  this  dandy  re- 
flects :  "Put  her  in  a  decent  gown,  and.  by  Jove,  she'd 
do  for  Washington  Square  or  University  Placed 
Though  there  are  tears  in  her  eyes,  the  divine  radi- 
ance has  not  left  the  girl's  face. 

Gazing  after  the  cab  from  his  office,  the  Consul- 
General  remarks,  sotto  coct:  Tve  met  to-day  about 
the  sweetest  girl  I've  ever  seen,  and  have  been  intro- 
duced by  her  to  as  wily  and  crafty  a  scoundrel  as  ever 

195 


196          A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

disgraced  the  American  bar,  and  I've  encountered  a 
few  hummers." 

In  the  voiture,  Miss  Hammond  astounds  Alphonse, 
who  is  about  to  order  the  driver  to  go  back  to  Ma- 
dame Perrique's,  by  producing  a  roll  of  'billets  de 
banque  of  such  denominations  and  numbers  they  near- 
ly make  the  waiter  faint.  To  him  she  whispers: 
"Drive  at  once  to  the  Boulevard  Saint  Germain,  on 
the  opposite  side  to  number  seventy-one." 

"Number  seventy-one!  Why,  that's  the  Theatre 
Cluny." 

"Yes;  I  must  get  there  as  quickly  as  possible." 

Arriving  at  her  destination,  she  obtains  from  a 
nearby  stationery  shop  a  piece  of  paper,  and  hastily 
writes  two  lines  upon  it.  This  she  hands  with  more 
than  half  of  her  banknotes  to  Alphonse,  and  directs : 
"Get  Eousette's  receipt  for  the  money  and  the  con- 
tract as  I  explained  it  to  you." 

"I — I  understand,  Mademoiselle.  Six  thousand 
francs!  Mon  Dieu,  you  are  an  angel!"  gasps  the 
astounded  waiter.  "I  was  once  of  the  clacque  at  the 
Gymnase.  I  know  about  theatrical  matters." 

"Take  the  receipt  in  Ambigue's  name;  that's  the 
surest." 

"I  will,  Mademoiselle." 

"You  think  Eousette  will  do  it  ?"  she  queries,  anx- 
iously. 


'A  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET          197 

"Do  it !  What  manager  could  resist  a  certain  guar- 
antee? Do  it!  I  will  bet  already  Rousette  is  re- 
penting throwing  away  the  chances  of  a  drama  he 
thinks  will  be  a  grand  success.  Perhaps  even  now 
Armande  de  Millefleurs  is  imploring  him,  and  swear- 
ing she  will  not  act  in  anything  except  Calypso  on 
this  night.  You  know  she " 

"Yes,  I  know  she ,"  shudders  the  girl,  and 

cowers  down  brokenly,  in  the  carriage,  as  Alphonse 
goes  on  his  mission.  But  Georgina  pats  her  on  the 
shoulder,  and  says :  "Keep  up !  With  all  those  bank 
bills  in  your  hand — oh,  Gertie,  you  haven't  got  any 
bonbons  yet,  and  I'm  starving  for  them." 

"No ;  but  we  will  buy  some  now/'  whispers  Gertie, 
sadly.  "Some  people  shall  be  happy." 

"Then  you  will  lend  me  money  to  telegraph  Jack 
to  coma  on  quick  to  take  me  away.  I  couldn't  stay 
there  if  you  left  your  new  mother,"  observes  Geor- 
gina, as,  with  a  banknote  in  her  hand,  she  dashes 
from  the  cab  to  indulge  in  bonbons  and  send  her 
Jack  an  imploring  dispatch. 

Alone  in  the  cab,  Miss  Gertie  shudders:  "My  new 
mother!  That's  my  complication  now — my  legal 
mother,  and  that  villain  Rosenbaum!" 

A  few  minutes  later  young  Mrs.  Horton  returns  to 
the  hack,  and  says,  as  well  as  she  can  with  a  mouth 


198  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

full  of  sweets:  "Gertrude,  how  your  eyes  are  flash- 
ing!" 
"Are  they?"  answers   Miss  Hammond.     "I   was 

thinking  of  a  scoundrel." 

Georgina  knows  she  doesn't  refer  to  the  dramatist, 
for  when  Alphonse,  some  ten  minutes  later,  comes 
across  the  street  from  the  Theatre  Cluny  to  their 
carriage,  and  hands  Gertrude  a  document,  her  face 
grows  sadly  tender.  After  reading  it  very  carefully, 
and  inspecting  the  signature,  she  queries,  anxiously : 
"What  did  Eousette  say  to  the  money?" 

"Didble!  at  first  he  thought  the  money  was  coun- 
terfeit," grins  the  waiter,  "and  tested  the  bills  with 
a  magnifying  glass.  He  couldn't  understand  how 
Ambigue  had  raised  any  such  sum.  Then  the  man- 
ager scratched  his  head,  and  laughed :  'I  suppose  the 
fellow  must  have  obtained  it  from  Armande.  She 
may  have  put  her  jewelry  in  hock  for  this  affair. 
She's  crazy  to  play  the  part.'  * 

To  this  Miss  Hammond  cries  out,  mentally: 
"Thank  God,  I,  not  she,  have  given  him  his  oppor- 
tunity!" Then,  almost  tearfully,  she  directs:  "Al- 
phonse, you  must  find  Ambigue,  and  tell  him — tell 
him  the  good  news." 

"I'll  find  him,"  asserts  the  waiter.  "Thanks, 
Mademoiselle,"  for  she  has  pressed  a  hundred-franc 
bill  into  his  hands.  "You  are  too  generous." 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          199 

"No ;  it  is  nothing." 

''"Nothing?  Diable,  one  would  think  you  were  an 
heiress.  Oh,  Madame  Perrique  will  be  happy  when 
she  knows  you  have  so  much  money.  Best  not  throw 
it  all  away,"  he  adds,  grimly,  "you'll  need  some  of  it 
to  make  your  peace  with  her." 

These  remarks  about  her  legal  mother  make  Miss 
Hammond  cautious.  The  two  girls  deposit  Alphonse 
where  he  declares  he  can  quickly  put  his  eyes  upon 
the  bohemian,  and,  though  Georgina  purchases  some 
more  bonbons,  they  return  almost  immediately  to  the 
house  of  their  guardian. 

Here  they  are  met  at  the  door  by  the  ex-school- 
mistress, who  says  anxiously :  "Where  have  you  been 

"  she  was  going  to  say  "hussies,"  but  she 

changes  it  to  "darlings." 

"In  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  for  a  drive." 

"What,  with  no  money!  How  do  you  suppose  I 
can  afford  to  pay  that  man  ?" 

"Oh,  with  the  funds  you  will  get  from  the  Ameri- 
can Consul  for  me,"  answers  Miss  Hammond,  pinch- 
ing Georgina,  to  prevent  her  giving  a  mocking 
snicker. 

"Yes;  the  document  is  ready  for  your  signature, 
my  child,"  observes  Madame  Perrique,  and  urbanely 
pays  the  hackman,  while  Gertrude,  cramming  her 


200         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

hand  into  her  pocket  to  be  sure  the  moiety  of  her  roll 
of  bills  is  still  there,  and  scarce  believing  her  senses, 
which  have  been,  not  only  very  much  astounded,  but 
also  shocked,  goes  upstairs,  and  in  her  chamber  be- 
gins to  sob :  "My  uncle  in  California !  Though  I 
had  never  seen  him,  dying,  he  thought  of  me — he 
thought  of  me.  He  has  given  me  a  chance  in  life,  a 
chance  to  be  happy."  Then  she  starts  up,  and  fal- 
ters :  "Oh,  if  Alphonse  doesn't  find  him !"  next  mut- 
ters, hoarsely:  "But  Alphonse  must  find  Ambigue! 
He  is  despairing  and  in  want,  and  I — I  have  the 
world  at  my  feet/'  These  reflections  lead  her  to 
Armande  de  Millefleurs.  She  wrings  her  hands,  and 
sighs:  "She  is  so  beautiful,  she  is  to  talented,  she 
is  so  great — this  actress,  who  will  play  in  his  grand 
drama  to-night." 

This  conflict  of  the  emotions  doesn't  produce  much 
appetite.  As  time  runs  on  Gertrude  becomes  anxious 
for  the  return  of  Alphonse  with  news  of  the  bohe- 
mian.  The  last  hours  of  daylight  seem  interminable. 
Three  times  she  takes  the  banknotes  from  her  pocket 
and  bites  her  pretty  fingers,  to  be  certain  she  is 
awake. 

Madame  Perrique,  sure  her  ward  is  beneath  her 
roof,  gives  her  little  attention,  being  occupied  with 
Mr.  Eosenbaum  in  "squaring,"  as  he  expresses  it, 
the  last  of  her  boarders. 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          201 

Soon,  fortunately,  Gertrude  is  distracted  from  her 
own  affairs  by  Georgina's  prattle.  Young  Mrs.  Hor- 
ton  comes  in  to  her,  and,  gazing  at  her,  says,  peni- 
tently :  "I'm  sorry,  Gertie.  I  wouldn't  have  told  you 
about  Ambigue  and  the  actress,  had  I  known  you 
were  so  crumpled  on  him.  But  what  I  told  you  was 
the  truth,"  she  adds,  stoutly.  "He  did  say  Armande 
had  a  magnificent  backbone." 

"Pish,  child,  what  do  you  know  about  such  mat- 
ters!" cries  Gaspard's  sweetheart,  haughtily. 

"Child!"  answers  Georgina,  savagely  and  impul- 
sively. "I  am  tired  of  being  called  child.  Despite 
these  infamous  short  skirts,  I  have  been  a  married 
woman  for  three  weeks." 

"Good  heavens,  tell  me!"  ejaculates  Miss  Ham- 
mond, scarce  believing  her  ears.  But  receiving  com- 
plete confession,  the  tale  of  honeymoon  woes  from 
the  adolescent  Mrs.  Horton  is,  fortunately,  sufficient- 
astounding  to  divert  Gertrude's  mind  for  a  little  time 
from  her  own  social  problem. 

But  Alphonse  doesn't  come,  and  evening  does.  Her 
new  mother  bustles  in  to  her  adopted  daughter's  room 
and  says:  "Did  you  see  anything  of  that  wretched 
gargon  before  you  left,  Gertie?  He  hasn't  returned. 
There  will  be  no  one  to  wait  upon  my  few  remaining 
guests.  I  have  discharged  nay  other  dining-room  ser- 
vants." 


202         TA  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Alphonse  not  yet  come  ?"  falters  Miss  Hammond, 
and  goes  about  the  house,  looking  for  him  with  such 
diligence  that  Madame  Perrique  remarks  to  Eosen- 
haum:  "She  is  very  docile.  She  does  everything  I 
tell  her.  We  will  have  no  trouble  with  her  whatso- 
ever. She  feels  for  my  poverty  so  greatly,  I  do  not 
think  she  will  even  eat  very  much.  She  has  said  she 
did  not  care  to  come  down  to  dinner.  I'll  have  a 
few  trifles  sent  up  to  her  when  Alphonse  comes." 

A  moment  after  Alphonse  does  come  it,  his  eye  per- 
turbed, his  manner  absent-minded.  He  waits  upon 
the  table  in  a  slipshod  way,  and  then  sympathetically 
carries  up  their  little  dinner  to  Miss  Hammond  and 
Georgina. 

The  moment  he  is  in  the  room,  Miss  Hammond  is 
questioning  him:  "What  did  Moliere  say?  Did  he 
express  gratitude  ?  Did  he  express " 

"He  expressed  nothing.  I  have  not  seen  Ambigue. 
Nobody  knows  what  has  become  of  him,"  answers 
the  waiter,  trying  to  keep  concern  out  of  his  voice. 

"Then  he  must  have  heard!  He  must  be  at  the 
theatre!  Eousette  has  probably  notified  him!" 
These  are  excited  ejaculations  from  Gertrude.  To 
them  she  adds,  suddenly:  "Alphonse,  you — you 
don't  think  anything  has  happened  to  him?" 

"No;  I  don't  think!" 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         203 

"But  you  fear?"    The  girl's  face  is  very  pale. 

"No;  I  don't  fear!"  says  Alphonse,  seeing  that 
Miss  Hammond's  spirits  must  be  sustained.  "He  is 
probably  at  the  theatre." 

"Then  we  must  go.    You  must  get  a  box !" 

"Get  a  box!  Take  me!"  cries  Georgina,  who  has 
been  listening  eagerly.  "I'll  chaperone  you,"  giggles 
the  youthful  matron  into  Gertie's  ear.  "It's  all  per- 
fectly proper;  I'm  a  married  woman,"  she  adds,  at- 
tempting a  playful  dignity. 

"Then  you'll  have  to  sneak  out  or  Perrique  won't 
allow  you  to  go,"  observes  the  waiter.  "I  am  in- 
clined to  think,  from  what  I  heard  her  say  to  Mon- 
sieur Rosenbaum  at  the  dining-table,  she  values  you 
very  highly,  Mademoiselle  Hammond!" 

He  departs  to  see  if  the  coast  is  clear,  and  the  two 
girls  make  a  hasty  toilette ;  Gertie  has  only  the  cheap 
muslin  gown  and  the  chaperone  is  pouting:  "With 
this  atrociously  short  frock,  thank  God,  I've  got  silk 
stockings !" 

Alphonse  is  awaiting  them  in  the  hallway,  when 
misfortune  descends  upon  them  in  the  form  of  Ma- 
dame Perrique.  She  puts  her  head  into  the  bed- 
room, and  says :  "Did  you  have  a  good  dinner,  girls  ? 
Gertrude,  I  picked  out  for  you  the  mutton  chops  you 
like  so  much." 


204         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Yes,  Madame  Perrique." 

"I  shall  be  engaged  with  Mr.  Rosenbaum  some 
little  further  time.  Best  remain  in  your  room,  my 
pets.  I  know,  my  daughter,  you  do  not  wish  to  see 
any  of  the  wretches  who  formerly  persecuted  you — 
and  there  are  a  few  of  them  left." 

"Yes,  Madame,"  replies  Miss  Hammond,  demure- 
ly, though  Georgina  can  scarcely  restrain  a  laugh. 

"When  I  come  back,  I  shall  expect  to  find  that 
document  signed." 

"Yes,  Madame." 

"It  is  a  mere  form.  You  have  very  little  money 
»t  the  Consul's." 

"Yes,  Madame." 

"Mr.  Bosenbaum  will  collect  it  for  me." 

"Yes,  Madame."  Fighting  with  herself  to  keep 
her  tongue  at  this  formula,  Miss  Hammond's  eyes 
eparkle  menacingly.  Fortunately,  Madame  Per- 
rique soon  leaves  the  room,  or  there  would  be  a  de- 
nouement then. 

Three  minutes  after,  the  girls  have  glided  down 
the  stairs  to  Alphonse,  who  whispers :  "Not  the  front 
door.  The  noise  would  catch  Perrique's  ear.  This 
way — "  and  leads  them  to  the  servants'  exit,  from 
which  they  issue,  cloaked  and  hooded,  into  the  winter 
street. 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         205 

But  Miss  Hammond  had  a  pocketful  of  bills.  They 
catch  a  voiture  almost  immediately  on  the  Rue  de  la 
Fayette,  and  are  driven  across  the  Pont  au  Change 
and  Pont  St.  Michel,  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  river, 
where  they  soon  reach  the  Boulevard  Saint  Germain, 
and  pause  in  the  wide  thoroughfare  among  a  little 
cluster  of  carriages  in  front  of  the  Theatre  Cluny. 

The  theatre's  doors  are  admitting  quite  a  number 
of  people.  Georgina  utters  an  exclamation  of  de- 
light. "It's  all  right!"  she  whispers.  "Calypso  is 
on  the  billboards  at  the  entrance." 

• 

"And,  oh,  Ambigue's  name  is  attached  to  the 
drama!"  exclaims  Gertrude.  "It  is  no  more  anony- 
mous. He  must  be  here  in  the  theatre."  Miss  Ham- 
mond's eyes  are  bright  with  hope  and  love.  . 

A  moment  later,  the  adroit  waiter,  who  for  the 
occasion  has  donned  his  dress-auit  and  succeeded  in 
giving  himself  the  appearance  of  an  alert  counter- 
jumper,  asks:  "Shall  I  use  the  author's  tickets? 
Ambigue  left  his  pocketbook  behind  him,  and  I  have 
it  in  my  coat." 

"No,  no;  the  best  box  in  the  house!"  whispers 
Gertrude.  "I  want  the  receipts  to  be  big."  She 
slips  a  hundred-franc  bill  into  the  waiter's  hand. 

"Diable,  you  spend  money  as  if  you  were  a  real 
American  heiress,"  he  grins,  and,  stepping  up  to  the 


206          'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

box-office,  around  which  there  is  already  quite  a  con- 
course, secures  a  first  tier  stage  box. 

"Do  you  know  the  loge  set  aside  for  the  author?" 
whispers  Gertrude,  as  he  obtains  some  programmes 
for  them1  and  they  step  up  the  stairs. 

"Yes,  Mademoiselle;  I  will  point  it  out  to  you. 
Everything  is  going  very  well.  The  title  has  attract- 
ed the  students  of  the  Quartier.  It  indicates  some- 
thing naughty,"  grins  the  gargon,  as  he  discreetly 
takes  a  seat  at  the  rear  of  the  box,  and  during  most 
of  the  performance  leaves  the  ladies  to  themselves. 

Watching  the  audience  gradually  accumulate,  Geor- 
gina  comments  upon  them  vivaciously :  "There's  an 
Englishman  who  looks  something  like  my  Jack  in  the 
orchestra,  right  behind  the  bald-headed  man.  Mercy, 
ain't  they  flocking  in !  A  regular  hodge-podge  of  a 
crowd.  Don't  sit  so  far  in  front  of  the  box,  Gertie. 
There's  a  handsome-looking  fellow  in  the  first  bal- 
cony— I  know  he's  an  artist — trying  to  catch  your 
eye.  And  there's  the  Count  de  Pichoir  and  Hadji 
Pacha,  and  some  more  of  your  old  admirers,"  she 
giggles,  "using  poor  Ambigue's  tickets  they  had  re- 
ceived as  cards  of  defiance.  For  first-class  economy, 
give  me  Parisians !" 

Miss  Hammond  does  not  reply  to  these  effusions, 
except  by  modestly  withdrawing  further  from  the 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          207 

general  gaze.  But  all  the  time  she  is  growing  more 
and  more  elated  at  the  number  of  people  pouring  into 
the  theatre.  She  now  feels  as  much  interested  in  the 
success  of  the  drama  as  if  she  were  Amhigue  himself. 
She  thinks :  "I  did  this  for  him.  This  is  my  pro- 
duction, not  Rousette's,"  and  is  delighted  that  the 
little  theatre  is  now  nearly  full;  though  its  audi- 
ence is  not  the  concourse  usual  to  the  grand  the- 
atres of  the  main  part  of  Paris,  being  quaint,  bo- 
hemian  and  artistic,  in  accordance  with  its  surround- 
ings. 

For  this  little  playhouse  is  across  the  river,  and 
attracts  its  own  clientele  of  bloused  workingmen  and 
petite  bourgeoisie  to  its  upper  galleries.  Wine  mer- 
chants from  the  convenient  Halls  aux  Vines,  the  shop- 
keepers of  the  neighborhood,  and  sometimes  cadets 
of  the  old  noblesse,  who  still  inhabit  their  ancient 
hotels  in  the  Faubourg  Saint  Germain,  pass  their 
evenings  in  its  lower  balconies,  orchestra  and  boxes ; 
but,  in  addition,  are  always  a  lot  of  students  from  the 
neighboring  Quartier  Latin,  and  a  smattering  of 
artists  from  the  nearby  Luxembourg.  These  give 
considerable  weight  to  its  first  night  verdicts,  which 
they  express  with  an  elan  and  vigor  peculiar  to  bo- 
hemian  Paris. 

This  evening,  also,  there  IE  an  unusual  sprinkling 


208          'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

of  men  about  town,  who  have  journeyed  from  the 
fashionable  cafes  of  the  main  boulevards ;  also  a  few 
officers  in  the  uniforms  of  the  Paris  garrison.  These 
are  inveterate  first  nighters,  who  have  come  to  see  the 
new  play,  as  this  is  the  only  production  announced 
for  this  evening.  For  the  same  reason,  a  number  of 
leading  feuilletonistes  and  some  of  the  most  distin- 
guished critics  of  the  Parisian  press  have  conde- 
scended to  drop  into  the  Theatre  Cluny. 

"Mon  Dieu!"  whispers  Alphonse,  who,  having  been 
a  member  of  the  clacque  at  the  Gymnase,  knows  most 
of  the  notables  in  theatrical  circles,  "if  this  audience 
says  it's  a  hit,  Ambigue  can  put  up  his  cap  heside 
Scribe  and  Dumas.  This  crowd  knows  its  business. 
Diable!  there's  Sarcey,  of  the  Oaulois;  that's  Grimm, 
of  le  Petit  Journal,  and  voila,  young  Claretie^what 
he  says  will  be  important!" 

So,  after  a  little  time,  the  overture  begins.  It  is 
that  of  "La  Grande  Duchesse"  of  Jacques  Offenbach, 
whose  buoyant  and  sparkling  rhythms  are  at  this 
time  the  whistling  tunes  of  Paris.  The  amorous 
strains  of  the  "Dites  Lui"  makes  Gertrude's  heart  beat 
tumultuously.  To  herself  she  whispers :  "Yes ;  tell 
him  I  love  him — tell  him  I  love  him!"  and  turns 
swimming  eyes  upon  the  author's  box,  that  is  still 
vacant. 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         209 

Then  the  curtain  goes  up.  She  is  not  impressed 
with  the  opening  scene.  This  seems  too  quiet  in  its 
almost  classical  repose. 

"It  is  but  an  introduction,  Mademoiselle,"  whispers 
Alphonse,  deprecatingly.  "Great  authors  don't  hit 
the  public  while  they  are  still  coming  into  the  the- 
atre. Something  better  will  come  later." 

"I  hope  it  will!"  growls  Georgina.  "The  first 
scene  was  rather  stupid.  There  was  not  a  single  kiss 
in  it." 

"Stupid?"  dissents  Gertrude,  viciously.  "Stupid 
— not  at  all !  The  dialogue  was  extremely  brilliant. 
Didn't  you  see  that  oldish  man  in  the  front  row 
laugh  ?  He  did  laugh  heartily." 

"Mon  Dieu,  that's  Arsene  Houssaye!"  gasps  Al- 
phonse, impressed. 

This  puts  Miss  Hammond  into  quite  an  elated  ex- 
citement, which  now  becomes  more  intense,  for  by 
the  end  of  the  first  act  the  audience  has  grown  in- 
terested. Even  the  critics  seem  impressed. 

When  the  curtain  descends,  Alphonse  darts  out  into 
the  lobby.  He  soon  returns,  rubbing  his  hands  to- 
gether, and  says  to  the  girls :  "It  made  a  very  good 
effect.  I  heard  Sarcey  say  to  Emile  Augier:  'It  is 
a  novel  idea;  a  woman  jealous  of  herself.'  Women 
are  often  jealous  of  other  women,  but  they  are  not 


210         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

often  green-eyed  of  themselves,  you  know,"  continues 
the  waiter,  grinningly.  "Armande  was  very  £nn3. 
She  looks  very  beautiful  as  the  Athenian  wife,  doesn't, 
she  ?  That  chic  Greek  costume  permits  her  to  show 
her  exquisite  white  arms." 

"Oh,  very  beautiful!"  sighs  Miss  Hammond,  who, 
though  she  wants  the  heroine  of  Ambigue's  play  to 
make  a  hit  with  the  audience,  fears  her  rival's  charms 
may  also  make  a  hit  with  the  author. 

"But  I  heard  Eousette  say  to  one  of  the  critics," 
jabbers  the  excited  garQon,  "'Just  wait  till  the  last 
act — that  will  take  you  off  your  feet !'  * 

To  this  Gertrude  doesn't  answer.  She  is  gazing 
uneasily  at  the  author's  vacant  box. 

"Perhaps  he  is  shunning  the  critics,"  whispers 
Alphonse,  "and  keeps  behind  the  scenes,  to  be  away 
from  them.  You  know,  authors  go  behind  the  cur- 
tain ;  they  have  that  privilege." 

Then  the  second  act  begins.  Gazing  upon  the 
opening  tableau,  Alphonse  exclaims :  "Eousette  must 
have  thought  pretty  well  of  this  drama ;  he's  had  new 
scenery  painted  for  it.  I'd  expected  the  old  wood 
canvas,  that's  done  duty  since  the  beginning  of  the 
Empire.  But  this  Greek  exterior,  with  Athens  in  the 
distance,  is  so  new,  diable,  I  can  smell  the  paint." 

"And  very  classic,  too,"  remarks  Miss  Hammond. 


'A  PRINC3  IN  TEE  GARRET         211 

Here  Georgina  breaks  in  rapturously:  "Oh,  look 
at  the  dancing  nymphs !" 

"Pretty  girls  Rousette  has  picked  out;  new  cos- 
tumes, also/'  asserts  Alphonse.  "Tonnerre,  he's 
spent  money  on  the  piece." 

Now  applause  commences  to  ripple  through  the 
audience,  for  they  begin  to  understand  the  great 
proposition  of  the  play,  and  it  appeals  to  them. 

The  locale  of  the  drama  is  ancient  Greece,  but  its 
plot  is  so  fast  and  Frenchy  that  at  times  both  Ger- 
trude and  Georgina  hide  their  blushing  faces  in  the 
curtains  of  the  box.  Its  novelty  is  extraordinary. 
It  permits  a  tremendous  display  of  varying  passions 
from  the  heroine,  who  is  possessed  of  a  dual  exist- 
ence; in  her  hypnotic  state,  as  the  harlot  Calypso, 
hating  the  sweet  Athenian  wife  she  really  is.  For 
both  wife  and  harlot  love  the  same  man,  the  hus- 
band of  the  first,  a  young  Athenian  officer,  serving 
with  Pericles. 

But  Miss  Gertie  doesn't  analyze  a  play  that  not  only 
charms,  but  frightens  her  from  its  intense  passions 
and  fervid  characterizations,  for  the  leading  role  is 
impersonated  by  an  artiste,  who  knows  she  has  a 
great  part,  and  has  the  power  to  make  the  audience 
feel  it. 

All  the  time,  in  spite  of  increasing  applause  that 


212          'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

now  becomes  an  ovation,  Miss  Hammond's  eyes  are 
turned  upon  the  author's  box  and  gradually  growing 
haggard;  she  scarce  notes  the  performance.  She 
doesn't  know  how  great  the  play  really  is.  The  main 
impression  on  her  agitated  mind  is  that  Ambigue  is 
not  here  to  receive  the  triumph  that  awaits  him.  She 
whispers  to  Alphonse:  "Go  to  the  stage  entrance. 
In  some  way,  find  if  Ambigue  is  behind  the  scenes. 
Tell  him  I  am  anxious." 

From  this  errand  the  waiter  returns  with  a  scared 
face,  and  mutters:  "He  isn't  there." 

Now  the  fourth  and  last  act  begins,  and  soon  bo- 
comes  a  triumph,  not  only  with  the  audience,  but  with 
the  critics.  Calypso,  the  harlot,  inflamed  with  jeal- 
ous rage,  places  a  cup  of  poison  so  that  Calypso,  the 
Athenian  wife,  her  other  self,  will  drink  it.  In  the 
second  tableau,  Calypso,  the  pure  Athenian  bride, 
awakened  from  her  hypnotic  state,  drinks  this  hem- 
lock potion  she  has  unwittingly  prepared  for  herself. 

Then  comes  the  great  death  scene,  when,  under  the 
subtle  influence  of  the  drug,  the  dying  woman's  men- 
tality grows  clear,  and,  in  the  arms  of  her  husband, 
she  knows  that  she,  hypnotically,  has  been  one  of  the 
Hetaira,  and  sighs:  "Thanks  to  the  gods,  I  have 
slain  my  viler  self !" 

Beautiful  as  a  nymph,  her  exquisite  form  draped 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          213 

in  white  gauzee,  from  which  her  alabaster  arms 
emerge  as  grandly  moulded  as  if  chiseled  by  a  Phydi- 
as,  Armande  dies  with  such  graceful  pathos  and  di- 
vine passion  that  she  would  strike  Miss  Hammond's 
heart  with  despair  for  Ambigue's  fealty,  were  there 
not  a  greater  anxiety  within  it.  The  girl  has  scarce 
grasped  the  play's  full  effect  upon  an  infatuated 
audience;  her  gaze  has  never  left  the  author's  box. 
They  are  calling  him.  His  name,  announced  from 
the  stage,  has  been  greeted  with  a  tumult  of  bravos 
and  applause.  Even  the  great  critics  join  in  this. 
But  there  is  no  Ambigue,  and  a  fearful  terror  racks 
his  sweetheart's  heart. 

Though  he  is  called  again  and  again,  there  is  no 
response.  Eousette,  coming  before  the  curtain,  has  a 
perturbed  look  in  his  own  eyes,  though  he  contrives 
to  say:  "It  is  the  modesty  of  genius  that  keeps  this 
great  author  from  us.  To-morrow  night  I  will  have 
him  here — for  you." 

"See  that  you  do!"  cries  a  student  from  the  gal- 
lery. "We  want  to  tell  our  new  genius  what  we 
think  of  him." 

"Grand  Dieu}  Sarcey  is  applauding  that  Quartier 
Latin  demand,"  whispers  Alphonse.  "What  an  arti- 
cle he  will  publish  to-morrow  about  our  author." 

Miss  Hammond  makes  no  reply  to  this.       Even 


214         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

Georgina  is  impressed  with  her  companion's  mien. 
It  is  tragic  as  that  of  Armande  de  Millefleurs  when 
she  had  died  upon  the  stage.  "My  God,  if  anything 
has  happened  to  him !"  shudders  the  girl,  mentally, 
and  demands:  "Alphonse,  where  can  he  be?" 

The  waiter  looks  perturbed. 

"How  can  I  find  him  ?"  demands  Gertrude,  almost 
frantically.  "He  must  be  told  of  his  triumph  before 
despair  destroys  him,"  and  she  racks  her  brain  how 
to  discover  at  this  time  of  night  in  the  great  city 
of  Paris  the  man  she  loves. 

Her  agitated  meditation  is  disturbed  by  Alphonse 
saying  abruptly :  "Diable,  I  think  a  thousand  francs 
would  do  it !" 

"A  thousand  francs!     How?" 

"But  then,  of  course,  that's  more  than  Mademoi- 
selle could  afford." 

"Pish,  what's  a  thousand  francs  to  me!"  says  the 
girl,  excitedly. 

At  this  arrogance  of  wealth  from  one  who  had  been 
starving,  the  gar$on  nearly  faints,  and  Georgina 
queries,  excitedly :  "Oh,  my,  what  did  the  American 
Consul  tell  you  ?  Are  you  an  heiress  ?" 

For  Miss  Hammond  is  pressing  ten  one-hundred- 
franc  bills  into  Alphonse's  hand  and  commanding: 
"Do  it;  whatever  it  is,  do  it!" 


A  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET         215 

'Then  I  haven't  time  for  explanation,"  whispers 
the  waiter,  for  a  few  of  the  audience  are  already 
moving  towards  the  exits.  "I'll  catch  young  Peron, 
of  La  Petite  Presse,  before  he  leaves  his  seat,"  and 
darts  from  them. 

The  two  girls  watch  the  crowd  who,  as  usual  after 
a  phenomenal  dramatic  triumph,  seem  loath  to  dis- 
perse. 

Many  of  the  audience  still  continue  to  applaud, 
and  in  response  to  their  bravos  and  demonstrations 
Armande  de  Millefleurs  makes  again  her  appear- 
ance and  bows  before  the  curtain.  The  beauty  of 
the  heroine  of  the  drama  adds  to  the  poignancy  of 
Miss  Hammond's  excited  reflections.  Those  beauti- 
ful white  arms  may  have  been  around  the  man  she 
loves. 

But  Armande  withdrawing,  Alphonse  shortly  re- 
turns and  says :  "I  couldn't  stop  to  explain  it  then, 
but  now  it  is  done.  I  found  young  Peron  of  La 
Petite  Presse.  It  is  a  little  paper  which  sometimes 
publishes  extra  editions.  For  a  thousand  francs  I 
knew  they  would  be  willing  to  put  out  immediately 
a  sheet  stating  the  great  triumph  of  this  play.  I 
have  made  the  arrangements.  In  a  little  over  an  hour 
— their  office  isn't  very  far  from  here — the  newsboys 
and  gamins  will  be  shouting  through  the  boulevards 


216          A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

and  even  in  bohemian  nooks,  where  poor  Ambiguc 
may  be  lurking,  the  announcement  of  the  great  tri- 
umph of  his  drama.  Nothing  will  bring  him  quicker 
than  that.  A  thousand  francs  guarantees  the  little 
paper  against  loss.  Peron  says  it  will  be  a  great 
newspaper  beat,  this  review  of  the  play  ahead  of  the 
grand  journals  in  the  morning.  He  is  delighted  with 
the  idea.  It  will  be  done  instantly.  Oh,  but  you 
must  be  rich  to  pay  for  such  great  things,  Mademoi- 
selle. Though,  Mon  Dieu,  how  your  new  mother  will 
reprove  your  extravagance." 

This  suggestion  makes  Georgina  falteringly  ejacu- 
late :  "Oh,  mercy,  won't  we  catch  it !" 

"Yes,  we  must  be  returning  to  Madame  Per- 
rique's,"  sighs  Miss  Hammond.  During  the  per- 
formance she  has  been  so  excited  she  has  scarcely 
thought  of  her  adopted  mother. 

"Besides,"  remarks  Alphonse,  "there  is  a  chance 
we  may  find  Ambigue  in  his  lair.  I  forgot  to  look  in 
his  garret,  which  he  inhabits  along  with  the  rats  and 
the  rubbish." 

"Ambigue's  garret!  Take  me  there  as  quick  as 
horses  can  fly !"  whispers  the  girl,  determinedly. 

The  party  hurry  down  the  stairs  and  through  the 
crowded  foyer,  for  the  audience  are  now  passing  out. 
Prom  their  excited  remarks,  Miss  Hammond  knows 
the  man  she  loves  is  regarded  as  a  genius. 


A  PRINCJS  IN  THE  GARRET         217 

Reaching  their  voiture,  they  drive  through  tht 
midnight  streets  of  Paris,  whose  immensity  tortures 
Miss  Hammond.  Has  the  man  she  loves  become  in- 
sane through  despair?  Is  he  lost  among  the  great 
crowds  of  this  cruel  city? 

Their  hack  rolls  over  a  bridge  across  the  Seine. 
Suddenly  an  awful  shudder  palsies  her  delicate  frame. 
Looking  upon  the  river's  dark  flowing  tide,  into  her 
mind  has  flashed:  "My  God,  has  Ambigue  sought 
to  change  despair  into  oblivion  in  those  silent  waters  ? 
Have  the  audience  at  the  Cluny  placed  a  laurel  crown 
upon  a  drifting  corpse?" 


CHAPTEE   IX. 

LOVE — AMONG  THE  RATS. 

As  the  carriage  rolls  on  past  the  Seine,  young  Mrs. 
Horton  fortunately  interrupts  Gertrude's  anxieties  as 
to  Ambigue  with  her  vivacious  chatter  about  his  play. 
"Wasn't  it  grand,  and  wasn't  it  wicked !"  she  bab- 
bles. "I  was  red  as  Armande's  scarlet  hetaira  cos- 
tume half  a  dozen  times." 

"It  was  a  very  chaste  play,"  dissents  Alphonse, 
adding  with  French  philosophy :  "Calypso  was  pure 
when  she  died.  As  a  wife,  her  only  crime  was  to 
drive  her  devoted  husband  to  despair  with  her  jeal- 
ous tantrums.  Some  of  that  was  very  funny,  wasn't 
it  ?  Even  the  critics  laughed  when  the  chaste  Athen- 
ian lady,  aroused  from  her  hypnotic  state,  discovered 
the  red  harlot's  cap  in  her  own  bed  and  demanded 
in  beautiful  poetic  language :  'Who's  been  here  since 
I've  been  gone?'  del,  Eugene  Labiche  chuckled  at 
that  as  if  it  was  in  one  of  his  own  Palais  Royal 
farces/' 

218 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          219 

This  discussion  brings  them  near  to  Madame  Per- 
rique's,  for  Alphonse  is  too  wary  to  drive  up  to  the 
front  of  the  house  in  a  coach.  He  says :  "She'd  hear 
the  wheels  and  nail  you  when  you  came  in." 

Consequently,  the  three  leave  the  hack  in  the  Kue 
de  la  Fayette  and  walk  to  the  Eue  de  Provence.  As 
they  hurry  along,  the  waiter  suggests:  "If  Per- 
rique's  discovered  your  absence,  she's  waiting  for  you 
at  her  front  door.  I'll  take  you  up  to  Ambigue's 
garret  by  the  servants'  entrance  and  the  back  stairs.'* 

He  offers  to  remove  his  shoes,  and  to  go  up  and 
seek  for  Ambigue  himself,  but  Miss  Hammond  says, 
eagerly :  "No,  no ;  if  he  is  there  I  want  to  tell  him 
of  his  triumph!" 

"And  I  want  to  clap  him  on  the  back  and  say 
Tmlly  boy!'  You  won't  be  jealous  of  that,  Gertie, 
will  you?"  laughs  Georgina. 

Her  companion  doesn't  answer  this.  Alphonse  is 
already  opening  the  servants'  door  with  his  pass  key 
and  the  two  girls  are  cautiously  entering  the  house. 
Guided  by  the  waiter,  they  reach  the  first  floor  by 
the  back  stairs. 

Here  Alphonse  whispers,  so  faintly  Miss  Hammond 
can  scarcely  distinguish  his  words:  "Perrique  has 
discovered  you  are  out.  She  is  in  the  reception-room 
watching  the  front  entrance.  I  hear  her  talking 
with  Rosenbaum." 


320         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

The  gargon's  quick  ears  are  correct.  Madame  Per- 
rique  has  discovered  the  absence  of  her  charges  and 
is  grimly  waiting  to  pounce  upon  them  on  their  re- 
turn. To  Bosenbaum  she  has  muttered:  "Is  Ger- 
trude running  after  Ambigue  ?  When  I  get  hold  of 
the  minx  she  shall  discover  that  I  am  her  mother  in 
fact  as  well  as  theory!"  For  Madame  Perrique1  is 
in  a  very  nasty  humor ;  Eosenbaum  having  asked  sus- 
piciously: "Holy  Poker,  you  haven't  told  her  any- 
thing about  the  money  at  the  American  Consul's 

yetr 

"Of  course  not!  Do  you  think  I'm  a  fool?"  has 
tartly  answered  the  landlady,  afraid  from  the  law- 
yer's perturbed  manner  to  tell  him  the  truth. 

"Then  I  reckon  it's  all  right/'  Eosenbaum  had  ob- 
served. "But  you'd  better  go  light  on  her,  even  if  she 
has  been  trying  to  see  the  fellow.  Wait  till  the  love 
excitement  is  out  of  her  and  she  has  become  down- 
hearted, despairing  and  pliable;  then  we'll  get  her  to 
sign  the  document  and  I'll  collect  the  money  for 
you!" 

"Shucks,  I  know  girls  better  than  you  do,"  was  the 
ex-schoolmistress's  reply.  "If  Gertie  has  gone  out 
once,  she  will  go  again  to  meet  this  out-at-elbows 
pauper.  When  she's  signed  the  document,  I  shall 
keep  my  daughter  upstairs  in  her  bedroom — if  neces- 
sary, under  lock  and  key." 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         221 

With  this  in  her  mind,  the  grim  woman's  attention 
is  directed  to  the  front  of  her  house,  not  to  its  rear. 
She  doesn't  catch  the  light  steps  of  the  two  girls  or 
the  heavier  footfalls  of  Alphonse's  stockinged  feet 
as  they  glide  up  the  back  stairs  of  the  house  and 
reach  the  floor  immediately  below  Ambigue's  garret, 
which  is  approached  by  a  narrow  rickety  ladder-like 
flight  of  steps. 

Alphonse  has  not  ventured  to  strike  a  match. 
Now,  with  him  in  the  lead,  Georgina  hanging  on  to 
his  coat-tail  and  Gertrude  holding  her  hand,  the 
three  cautiously  ascend  the  dusty,  unswept  steps. 
The  waiter  opens  the  door.  A  ray  of  moonlight  is 
coming  through  the  little  latticed  dormer  windows 
into  the  low  room,  tingeing  its  bare,  cobwebbed  oaken 
rafters  that  support  the  slanting  roof. 

As  the  girls  enter,  Alphonse  closes  the  door  behind 
them,  and  just  in  time,  for  there  is  a  hurried  scurry- 
ing and  Georgina  tries  to  run  back,  exclaiming: 
"Jingo,  something  rushed  between  my  legs !"  as  Ger- 
trude falters :  "Oh,  mercy,  what's  that  ?" 

"Eats!"  mutters  Alphonse.  "Lots  of  them  up 
here!" 

"Mercy!"  screams  the  young  matron,  while  Miss 
Hammond,  gathering  up  her  muslin  skirts,  gasps: 
"Oh,  goodness,  one  ran  across  my  foot  now !"  and  is 


222         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GAEEET 

about  to  spring  onto  a  packing  case  that  looms  up  be- 
fore her  in  the  moonlight. 

But  Alphonse  exclaims:  "Don't  dare  to  trust 
yourself  to  the  furniture!"  and  apparently  knowing 
the  locale  very  well,  strikes  a  match  and  lights  a 
candle,  which  he  places  on  a  rickety  deal  table. 

In  the  increased  illumination,  the  girls  see  rats 
everywhere,  darting  from  old  trunks  left  by  former 
boarders  in  liquidation  of  unpaid  accounts,  and  from 
packing  cases  whose  placards  indicate  they  once  con- 
tained provisions;  most  of  the  little  animals  taking 
refuge  in  several  large  closets  in  the  corners  of  the 
big  room. 

Alphonse,  as  he  lights  a  second  candle,  explains 
cheerily :  "Ambigue  sometimes  has  great  battles  with 
the  little  fellows.  Sapristi,  I  have  seen  him  shy  half 
a  dozen  heavy  tragedies  at  them  in  a  night.  You 
see,  since  the  Emperor  has  torn  down  so  many  old 
buildings  to  make  new  streets,  the  poor  animals, 
driven  from  their  ancient  homes,  are  very  numerous 
in  Perrique's  garret." 

"And  he  lives  up  here  alone?"  sighs  Miss  Ham- 
mond, looking  about  the  curiously  melancholy  apart- 
ment, which  is  impressive  in  its  bare  loneliness,  its 
terrific  poverty  and  its  peculiar  combination  of  store- 
room and  dwelling  place. 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GA&RET          223 

A  little  cot  bed  with  worn  bedding,  but  scrupu- 
lously clean,  is  in  an  obscure  corner  of  the  low  un- 
plastered  room,  quite  retired  from  the  rays  of  the 
two  candles,  one  of  which  is  burning  in  a  battered 
tin  candlestick  and  the  other  stuck  in  an  old  ab- 
sinthe bottle.  From  a  clothes  line  in  another  corner 
dangle  a  couple  of  dilapidated  white  linen  shirts, 
three  or  four  collars  of  assorted  sizes  and  some  under- 
wear, apparently  drying.  A  bucket  beneath  them 
apparently  serves  as  washtub,  while  a  laundry  iron 
indicates  that  Ambigue  does  up  his  own  linen. 

In  a  box  near  this  are  a  couple  of  plates,  a  cup 
and  saucer  and  one  or  two  knives  and  spoons  whose 
decorations  and  appearance  denote  they  have  been 
confiscated  from  Perrique's  dining-table. 

In  each  corner  of  the  long,  low,  slanting-roofed 
room  are  large  rough  deal  closets,  apparently  used 
for  storage  purposes,  for  upon  the  door  of  one  is 
chalked  "Trunks"  and  on  another  "Linen,"  the  one 
nearest  to  the  girls  being  marked  "Groceries  and 
Provisions."  These  have  deal  doors,  the  grocery  one 
being  secured  by  a  strong  padlock,  Perrique  appar- 
ently fearing  raids  from  the  hungry  bohemian. 

But  near  the  windows,  on  the  other  side,  the  dusty 
low-ceiled,  unplastered  apartment  has  more  of  a  lite- 
rary appearance.  Three  or  four  packing  cases  are 


224  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

half-open,  showing  some  school-room  desks,  old  text- 
books, and  the  hastily  packed  appurtenances  of  Mad- 
ame Perrique's  former  school  when  she  removed  to 
this  house  to  become  a  hotesse.  A  school  chair,  a 
deal  box  marked  "Sawyer's  Soups,"  three  broken 
cases,  placarded  severally  "Ships'  Biscuits,"  "Worces- 
tershire Sauce,"  and  "Cross  &  Blackwell's  Pickles/' 
make  the  seats  and  lounges  of  the  room;  while  an- 
other box,  branded  "Westphalia  Hams,"  is  appar- 
ently used  for  an  arm-chair,  it  having  a  dilapidated 
school  cushion  upon  it. 

After  one  quick,  nervous  glance  about  the  cold  and 
dreary  place,  Miss  Hammond,  shuddering  at  the 
cruel  poverty  of  the  man  she  loves,  sighs :  "He  is  not 
here." 

"Of  course,  he  isn't.  There's  his  hired  dress-suit 
for  to-night  at  the  Cluny  hanging  up  on  that  clothes- 
line," assents  Alphonse. 

"Jingo,  what  a  curious  hole,"  remarks  Georgina, 
and,  in  the  freedom  of  her  short  skirts,  goes  wander- 
ing about  the  big,  low,  rambling  room  inspecting  its 
cobwebbed  nooks  and  corners,  though  once  she  utters 
a  little  affrighted  cry  as  a  rat  bolder  than  the  rest 
looks  wonderingly  out  upon  her  from  round  the 
edge  of  the  Cross  &  Blackwell  pickle  box. 

"Yes,  and  very  bohemian,"  remarks   the   waiter 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         225 

rather  proudly.  "Ambigue  does  his  light  washing  in 
that  corner."  He  directs  Miss  Hammond's  attention 
to  the  clothes  line.  "Moliere  used  to  prepare  his 
twelve  o'clock  suppers  over  that  gas  jet  until  Mad- 
ame Perrique'  turned  it  off,"  he  grins.  "Now  he 
indulges  in  cold  midnight  collations." 

"But  where  is  he?"  breaks  in  the  girl  anxiously; 
a  moment  after  exclaiming:  "How  foolish  we  have 
been.  I  know  Perrique  has  barred  the  front  door 
on  the  poor  fellow.  She  will  not  let  him  in." 

"Oh,  that  doesn't  matter  much  to  Ambigue," 
laughs  the  waiter.  "She's  barred  him  out  before  a 
dozen  times  and  he  crawls  over  that  roof  and  in  that 
window."  Alphonse  indicates  a  little  dormer  win- 
dow that  looks  out  upon  an  abutting  roof.  "He 
knows  the  servants  in  the  next  house  and  they  let 
him  in.  If  a  locked  front  door  had  kept  him  out, 
Moliere  Shakespeare  Ambigue  would  have  more  than 
once  been  compelled  to  walk  the  streets  of  Paris  all 
night." 

"Walk  the  streets  of  Paris!  That's  what  he's 
doing  now,  perhaps,"  shudders  Miss  Hammond. 
The  young  lady  knows  what  it  is  to  be  without  a 
roof  in  Paris.  To  this  she  adds  frantically :  "And  to 
think  he  was  not  at  the  theatre  to  see  the  triumph 
of  his  glorious  play.  Ah,  fate  has  been  cruel  to 


226          'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

him!"  Gertrude  sighs  and  sinks  upon  the  box 
marked  "Westphalia  Hams/'  which  gives  a  warn- 
ing creak  even  under  her  light  impact. 

"Cruel!  It  was  damnable!"  assents  the  waiter. 
"How  Moliere  will  kick  himself  for  not  having  been 
at  the  Cluny."  He  picks  up  from  the  table  a  scrap 
of  paper  and  exclaims:  "Aha,  here  is  part  of  his 
impromptu  speech !" 

Whereupon  with  much  vivacious  gesticulation  Al- 
phonse  reads :  "  'This  wholly  unexpected  ovation 
agitates  me  so  much  that  my  tongue  in  surprise 
cleaves  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth.  This  totally  un- 
locked for  triumph  from  the  generous  public,  this 
unhoped  extraordinary  favor  shown  by  your  liberal 
hands,  so  overcome  me  that  the  few  words  that  flow 
spontaneously  from  the  poor  lips  of  Moliere  Shake- 
speare Ambigue  are  those  of  a  heart  bursting  with 
gratitude,  not  those  of  a  head  filled  with  vainglory 
or  made  unduly  arrogant  with  adoration/  K 

"Diable"  grins  the  waiter,  "he  has  rewritten  that 
modest  impromptu  five  times." 

"Oh,  don't — don't  laugh !"  cried  Gertrude,  angrily. 
"His  personal  triumph  was  stolen  from  him  by  un- 
happy chance." 

A  moment  after  she  modestly  falters:  "I  would 
not  have  come  to  his  room,  but  I  felt  he  must  know. 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          227 

I — I  must  leave  a  note  here  to  tell  Mm.  Can't  you 
find  pens  and  paper,  a  pencil,  anything  with  which 
I  can  scribble  a  few  lines,  so  that  if  he  comes  in  he 
may  know  that  he  is  no  longer  poor  and  unknown, 
but  successful  and  triumphant." 

As  she  speaks,  Gerty  is  looking  hastily  about  the 
portion  of  the  room  devoted  to  literature.  In  her 
search  for  stationery,  she  picks  up  a  worn  parchment 
bound  book,  and  glancing  at  it,  murmurs :  "Madame 
Perkins's  old  role  and  punishment  book." 

About  this  time  Georgina  exclaims :  "Why,  if  there 
isn't  one  of  Perkins's  ancient  school  bookcases,"  and 
commences  to  pull  out  the  drawers  and  inspect  its 
books,  laughing:  "Exercise  books,  impositions,  and 
oh,  mercy — Tickler!"  Young  Mrs.  Horton  gives  a 
shudder  as  she  exhibits  a  lithe  rattan,  and  her  face 
expresses  unpleasant  recollections  of  her  early  child- 
hood, when  "Tickler"  and  she  had  been  too  well 
acquainted. 

"An  old  friend  of  yours,  Georgina,"  half-smiles 
Gertrude. 

"Gracious,  I  believe  Perrique  would  like  to  give 
it  to  me  now !"  giggles  the  vivacious  Georgina ;  then 
pauses,  listens  and  whispers:  "Goodness,  Alphonse, 
what's  that  noise  on  the  stairs!"  and  she  and  the 
waiter  glide  cautiously  to  the  door  and  look  down. 


228         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

But  Miss  Hammond  has  become  too  absorbed  in 
the  recollections  arising  in  her  mind  from  the  rec- 
ords of  her  old  school  for  the  moment  to  pay  atten- 
tion to  anything  else.  She  is  reading  in  Perrique's 
angular  script:  "Gertrude  Eloise  Hammond,  bread 
and  water  for  watching  an  unknown  man  in  the 
street;  Gertrude  Hammond,  locked  up  for  flirting 
with  a  man;  Gertrude  Hammond  expelled,  a  love 
letter  being  found  in  her  possession  signed  Gaspard.' 
Yes,  Gaspard  loved  me  when  I  was  a  school-girl,  and 
I — I — I  didn't  always  laugh  at  his  devotion,"  she 
sighs.  Then  her  face  lights  up  with  tender  triumph ; 
she  murmurs :  "This  shows  where  he  found  my  name. 
This  proves  he  did  not  intentionally  make  me  the 
bait  of  these  fortune  hunters.  Innocent  of  one,  he 
may  be  innocent  of  everything.  It  was  art,  not  love, 
that  made  Ambigue  so  careful  of  this  actress.  This 
book — this  book/' — she  fondles  it  with  her  hands, 
and  tears  dim  her  lovely  eyes — "takes  *me  back  to 
when  he  was  Gaspard  and  I  was  Mignonette." 

From  this  she  is  aroused  by  an  awful  shock.  Geor- 
gina,  whose  emotions  are  always  at  the  end  of  her 
tongue,  exclaims  abruptly:  "Oh,  murder,  if  Ambigue 
has  committed  suicide  I" 

Though  it  has  been  in  Miss  Hammond's  mind 
several  times  to-night,  this  horrible  suggestion  com- 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          229 

ing  from  another  has  such  a  terrific  effect  upon  her 
that  she  nearly  swoons. 

But  Alphonse,  supporting  her  slight  form,  whis- 
pers: "Look  out  for  the  furniture  about  here  or  I 
don't  know  what  will  happen  to  you.  Calm  your- 
self, Mademoiselle.  Moliere  Shakespeare  Ambigue 
has  had  too  many  tough  battles  with  the  world  to 
give  up  because  Fate  has  put  on  a  number  ten  heavy 
philosophe  and  kicked  him  a  little  harder.  Ah,  it 
was  a  glorious  night,"  he  says  encouragingly,  "Sacre 
lieu,  how  the  gallery  screamed.  All  I  am  afraid  of," 
adds  the  waiter,  "is  that  when  he  hears,  Moliere  will 
go  crazy  from  double  distilled  emotional  joy." 

While  Alphonse  and  Georgina  discuss  points  in 
the  performance,  Miss  Hammond,  having  found  a 
somewhat  torn  and  not  entirely  immaculate  piece  of 
paper,  has  been  writing  in  pencil  a  few  words,  unad- 
dressed  and  unsigned,  stating  the  production  and  the 
tremendous  success  of  Ambigue's  play  this  evening. 

Upon  this  note  she  places  a  beer  bottle  holding 
the  candle,  for  there  are  many  drafts  of  night  air 
from  the  numerous  nooks  and  corners  of  this  im- 
mense untenanted  room.  Some  of  the  small  panes 
in  the  little  dormer  windows  have  been  broken  and 
only  repaired  by  sheets  of  paper  pasted  over  them. 

"I  cannot  wait  for  him  any  longer.     Stay  here, 


230         A  PEINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

Alphonse.  Call,  Moliere's  attention  to  this.  You — 
yon  can  tell  him  I  wrote  it,  though  I  have  not  signed 
it,"  murmurs  the  blushing  girl. 

But  the  waiter's  eyes  are  now  fixed  suspiciously 
upon  the  door  opening  from  the  stairway.  He  glides 
to  it,  and  returning,  whispers:  "Liable,  Perrique  is 
on  the  stairs !" 

"In  Ambigue's  garret  at  midnight.  What  will  she 
think  of  me?"  stammers  Miss  Hammond. 

"Jingo,  if  Perrique  tells  Jack  I  was  in  a  man's 
bedroom  at  this  time  of  night,  what  a  row  he'll 
raise!"  whimpers  Georgina  alarmed. 

"You  can't  pass  her  on  the  stairs;  she's  got  a 
lighted  candle !"  mutters  the  waiter. 

To  this  the  young  American  lady  whispers  as  the 
blushes  fly  over  her  face:  "She  will  accuse  me  of 
being  worse  than  bold.  Suzanne  must  not  find  me 
here.  Alphonse,  what  shall  I  do  ?" 

"Slip  into  one  of  the  closets !"  suggests  the  g argon, 

At  his  words,  Georgina  tries  to  open  a  door,  but 
mutters :  "It  is  locked !" 

"Of  course,  it  is,"  replies  the  waiter.  "Iff  the 
provision  closet.  Besides,  it  generally  has  the  most 
rats  in  it." 

"This  one  looks  safe,"  Gertrude  glides  to  the  door 
marked  "Trunks."  Finding  it  unlocked,  she  opens  it. 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         231 

"If  you  feel  'em  moving  about  you,  get  on  a.  trunk," 
advises  Alphonse,  assisting  her. 

"Feel  rats  moving  about  me  in  the  dark — oh!" 
This  is  a  sighing  shudder,  which  is  shut  off  by  the 
closing  of  the  door  upon  Miss  Hammond. 

"But  me!  Perrique  will  tell  Jack  I  was  in  a  fel- 
low's bedroom  after  midnight !"  shudders  young  Mrs. 
Horton,  dancing  nervously  about  on  tip-toes. 

"In  with  the  linen,  then !"  says  the  waiter,  opening 
the  door  of  the  other  closet. 

"Are  there  any  rats  in  there?" 

"Lots!" 

"Oh,  murder!  I  see  'em!"  shivers  Georgina,  as 
Alphonse  shoves  her  in  and  closes  the  door  upon  her, 
he  not  having  much  time  to  lose. 

The  landlady's  step  is  already  on  the  landing. 
Had  her  limbs  not  been  rheumatic,  she  would  have 
reached  the  place  long  before  her  charges  had  flitted 
out  of  sight.  She  has  a  lighted  candle  in  her  hand, 
but  seeing  that  the  room  is  illuminated,  she  begins 
savagely :  "Ambigue,  did  I  not  give  you  notice  to  get 
out?" 

"You  may  have  given  Ambigue  notice — but  not 
me!"  remarks  Alphonse  debonairly,  though  a  nerv- 
ous grin  contorts  his  suave  smooth-shaven  counten- 
ance. 


232          A  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET 

"What  are  you  doing  here?"  interjects  the  land- 
lad}r,  cutting  him  short  suspiciously.  "You  have 
been  away  for  four  hours  from  your  duties.  I  give 
you  notice  to  quit,  also." 

"Thank  you,  Madame,"  murmurs  the  bowing 
waiter.  "On  my  discharge,  of  course  you  will  pay 
me  the  three  months'  back  wages  I  have  earned." 

"Don't  be  impertinent,"  exclaims  Suzanne,  irately. 
"I  will  settle  your  wages  when  to-morrow  I  receive 
certain  moneys  for  Miss  Hammond's  board  and 
lodging."  Here  a  new  idea  disturbs  Perrique's 
mind.  "You  left  the  house  about  the  time  my 
daughter  did,  I  think,"  she  observes  anxiously.  "Do 
you  know  where  she  is,  Alphonse  ?  Do  you  know — 

The  landlady  pauses  in  her  speech  to  give  a  vicious 
kick  as  a  big  rat  runs  around  the  box  marked  "Hol- 
land Butter."  "Thank  Heaven,  I've  killed  that 
one,"  she  exclaims  triumphantly;  then  queries,  sus- 
piciously: "What's  that?"  for  a  faint  sound  is  heard 
from  the  closet  in  which  Georgina  is  ensconced. 

"Merely  a  rat  squealing,"  giggles  the  waiter.  "It 
is  common  about  here." 

But  Madame  Perrique  is  too  busy  to  heed  his  re- 
mark. She  says:  "I  feared  Ambigue  had  sneaked 
in  and  was  trying  to  carry  off  his  worthless  wardrobe 
and  his  miserable  plays.  Come  with  me  downstairs, 
Alphonse,  and  lock  up  the  house." 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          233 

"But  perhaps  you  would  like  me  to  gather  up 
Monsieur  Ambigue's  effects"  suggests  the  gar^on, 
loitering  behind  her. 

To  this  she  answers :  "To-morrow  morning !  Pre- 
cede me  down  the  stairs.  You  can  carry  the  candle." 

"Yes,  Madame,"  assents  Alphonse,  who  can  think 
of  no  immediate  evasion  of  her  order  and  reflects: 
"On  my  first  chance,  I  will  come  up  and  assist  Miss 
Hammond  out." 

At  this  moment,  Madame  Perrique  economically 
blows  out  the  two  candles  burning  in  the  room,  and 
he  is  compelled  to  descend  the  litttle  stairway  before 
her,  cogitating  ruefully :  "Alone  in  the  dark  with  the 
rats,  those  poor  girls  will  be  frightened  to  death." 

But  the  stern  voice  of  his  mistress  is  urging  his 
lingering  descent.  "Are  you  a  cripple,  dolt?  Step 
quick!" 

On  arriving  at  the  lower  floor,  however,  she  sud- 
denly countermands  her  order  to  lock  up,  faltering: 
"Mon  Dieu,  neither  that  wretch  Georgina  nor  Gertie 
has  returned,"  and  her  face  indicates  both  concern 
and  rage. 

She  is  joined  by  Mr.  Daniel  Webster  Eosenbaum, 
whose  suave  countenance  denotes  he  is  equally  con- 
cerned. Alphonse  hears  her  whisper  to  him :  "Just 
wait  till  I  get  my  hand  on  the  baggage!'' 


234         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GAERET 

"You  must  restrain  yourself,  Madame  Perrique,* 
commands  the  lawyer.  "Of  course,  after  we've  got 
things  fixed,  it  may  be  well  to  display  your  power 
as  Gertrude's  mother,  but  not  before!"  A  moment 
after  he  comments  uneasily:  "There's  something 
curious  going  on.  A  messenger  came  from  the  Cluny 
Theatre  while  you  were  upstairs.  He  left  this  laurel 
wreath  for  the  absquatulated  Ambigue." 

"Rousette's  mockery  of  the  out-at-elbows  wretch/' 
growls  Perrique.  "If  my  Gertrude's  gallivanting 
after  that  bohemian,  I'll  put  her  on  bread  and  water, 
old  as  she  is." 

But  Gertrude  is  already  being  punished!  Tip  in 
the  attic,  she  has  slightly  opened  the  door  from  the 
closet;  finding  herself  alone  in  the  darkness,  with 
many  pattering  feet  about  her,  she  is  whispering: 
"Alphonse,  I  am  frightened — frightened  of  these 
rats.  Where  are  you  ?" 

A  muffled  scream  from  Georgina:  "They  are  up 
my  skirts  now;  I  can  feel  'em!"  makes  both  girls 
run  into  the  room. 

A  moment  later  young  Mrs.  Horton,  tremblingly 
gasps :  "A  burglar !  A  burglar !"  and  darts  back  into 
her  hiding  place. 

At  the  little  dormer  window  that  opens  upon  the 
roof  of  the  abutting  house,  Miss  Hammond  sees  Am- 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         235 

bigue,  the  bohemian.  Though  a  spasm  of  joy  flies 
through  her,  she  retreats  from  him  more  nervously 
than  she  would  from  a  burglar.  "What  will  he 
imagine  if  he  finds  me  here  alone  in  his  apartment 
at  this  time  of  night — waiting  for  him?"  She  tries 
to  reach  the  door  opening  on  the  stairs,  but  stumbles 
in  the  darkness  over  the  litter  and  packing  boxes  on 
the  floor. 

He  is  opening  the  window ;  he  will  discover  her. 

Thinking  Georgina  has  fled,  the  modesty  of  maid- 
enhood causes  the  young  American  lady  to  glide  into 
her  closet  again,  as  the  gaunt  Ambigue  slips  an  agile 
leg  over  the  window  casing,  and  climbs  into  his  own 
apartment.  Peering  from  her  closet,  Gertrude  sees 
him  strike  a  match  and  light  a  candle.  Then  she 
hears  him  cry,  suspiciously:  "Diable,  somebody  has 
burned  a  portion  of  my  dip  in  my  absence ;  somebody 
has  been  here.  Malheur,  have  they  stolen  one  of  my 
plays  ?"  This  is  followed  by  such  a  hideous,  despair- 
ing guffaw  that  the  listening  girl  shudders. 

"Parbleu!"  jeers  the  unfortunate  bohemian,  chat- 
ting half  dementedly  to  himself;  "who'd  steal  one 
of  them  now?  What's  literature  to  me  who  to-night 
walked  along  the  river  quays  and  debated  whether 
the  water  was  too  cold."  His  next  words  are  so 
astounding,  his  sweetheart  thinks  him  crazy;  he  ex- 


236         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

claims :  "But  I  come  back  here  to  battle  with  demons ! 
For  that  I  must  be  strong  I"  then  sighs :  "I  am  almost 
faint  from  hunger.  To  live  I  must  eat.  Ah,  how 
these  cases  of  canned  beef  mock  me.  Empty!"  he 
gives  one  a  vicious  kick — "empty  as  my  stomach, 
vacuous  as  my  heart !" 

Then  Miss  Hammond  hears  a  chuckle.  "I  had 
forgotten  Madame  Perrique's  provision  storeroom. 
She  doesn't  know  I  have  a  key."  A  moment  later  the 
big  padlock  clicks  and  Gaspard  places  on  the  table 
a  string  of  bologna  sausages,  a  piece  of  cheese,  a 
case  of  biscuits,  a  can  of  sardines  and  a  pot  of  butter. 

Gertrude's  spirits  are  better,  she  knows  Ambigue 
is  alive,  and  were  it  not  for  the  rats  that  make  her 
shudder,  she  would  smile  as  he  places  his  white  teeth 
in  a  big  bologna  sausage  and  exclaims :  "Diable,  some 
champagne  in  there !  I'll  drink  as  well  as  eat." 

He  is  springing  up  for  this  purpose,  when  Mad- 
ame Perrique,  followed  by  Mr.  Rosenbaum,  comes 
angrily  in.  The  landlady  says :  "I  heard  a  noise  up 
here.  I've  caught  you!  You've  sneaked  over  the 
roof  again.  That's  burglary!" 

"Welcome  to  my  humble  domicile,"  observes  the 
bohemian  debonairly:  "And  you,  Monsieur  Rosen- 
baum, accept  a  light  supper  I  am  preparing." 

This    light    supper    doesn't    improve    Suzanne's 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         237 

humor.  She  sinks  onto  an  empty  box  and  snivels: 
"And  every  night  I  thought  it  was  the  rats/' 

"Sapristi,  an  agreeable  disappointment,"  remarks 
the  dramatist,  airily.  "You  now  know  your  provi- 
sions were  not  thrown  away." 

Here  Rosenbaum  interjects,  a  professional  tone  in 
his  voice :  "As  the  counsel  of  the  lady  who  now  legal- 
ly occupies  the  position  of  mother  to  Miss  Gertrude 
Hammond,  I  must  demand  where  you  have  abducted 
her  daughter,  sir."  Daniel  Webster  has  been  racking 
his  brain  as  to  the  whereabouts  of  his  prey,  and  has 
concluded  the  scribbler  must  know  something 
about  it. 

"Yes,  you  reprobate,"  exclaims  Madame  Perrique, 
"tell  me  where  you  have  my  abducted  daughter  in 
hiding." 

"I  abduct  her?"  stammers  Ambigue;  then  rap- 
turously breaks  out :  "It  would  be  the  joy  of  my  life 
to  abduct  Mignonette,"  adding  these  astounding 
words :  "But  I  have  even  a  nobler  duty  to  perform — 
that  is,  to  save  her." 

"To  save  her !"  screams  Suzanne. 

"Yes ;  save  her  from  you,  monster !  and  from  you, 
diablesse!"  He  indicates  the  astonished  Eosenbaum 
and  the  irate  Perrique.  "It  was  my  Gertrude's  peril 
that  kept  me  from  suicide  to-night.  In  disappointed 


238         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

agony,  I  paced  the  streets  of  Paris  and  looked  from 
a  distance  upon  the  Cluny  Theatre.  It  was  lighted 
up.  They  were  playing  the  old  piece.  A  man  pass- 
lag  by  said  'dramatic  triumph.'  To  myself  I  cried: 
'That  should  have  been  mine !  Those  plaudits — that 
applause  should  be  for  me,  Ambigue,  the  outcast!' 
Distractedly  I  flew  to  the  river,  and  the  flickering 
waters  of  the  Seine  seemed  to  sigh  to  me:  'Here  is 
the  only  happiness  of  life — oblivion !'  Then  sudden- 
ly the  marvelous  interest  of  both  of  you  in  Mignon- 
ette flashed  through  my  mind.  I  said :  'These  demons 
want  her — for  what?  Coward  Ambigue,  to  desert 
a  poor  girl  who  is  in  the  clutch  of  Harpies.  I'll  go 
back  to  save  her  from  those  who  would  poison  her 
young  heart  and  devour  her  innocent  soul.  Not  be- 
cause I  have  hope,  for  that  has  gone  from  me,  but  be- 
cause she  once  said  she  loved  me — because  she  is  help- 
less!'" 

The  pathos  of  his  miserable  story  would  probably 
bring  tears  to  Gertrude's  eyes,  but  she  only  hears  it  in 
a  confused,  distracted  manner,  for  she  is  now  battling 
with  the  rats.  Familiar  with  her  presence,  in  the 
darkness  the  little  animals  have  grown  bolder.  The 
poor  girl  is  shudderingly  brushing  them  away,  and 
though  faint  with  disgust,  is  clenching  her  teeth 
to  prevent  an  outcry  that  would  expose  her  to  the 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          239 

shame  of  being  found  alone  at  midnight  in  hiding 
in  Ambigue's  apartment. 

Moliere's  oration  has  been  listened  to  with  mingled 
astonishment  and  rage  by  the  New  Orleans  lawyer 
and  the  French  liotesse,  though  rage  predominates 
in  Perrique  as  the  bohemian  continues  philosophi- 
cally: "But  to  protect  my  love,  I  must  be  strong, 
therefore  a  little  more  supper  I"  With  this  he  makes 
his  two  rows  of  strong  white  teeth  meet  in  another 
sausage  with  such  vigor  that  it  disappears  almost  as 
he  speaks  the  words. 

"You  double  dyed  villain,  abusing  me  and  stealing 
my  provisions!"  cries  Suzanne  savagely.  "But  you 
shall  tell  me  where  you  have  my  daughter  in  hiding  ?" 

"Oh,  yes,  of  course,  she  is  here !  Look  for  an  angel 
of  virtue  in  the  closets  of  a  bachelor's  bedroom.  That's 
right — take  my  suggestion!  Perhaps  your  adopted 
daughter  is  in  the  trunk  receptacle,  or  the  old  clothes 
department,"  the  bohemian  scoffs  at  Madame  Per- 
rique, who,  catching  a  faint  sighing  sound,  now  fol- 
lows his  advice.  "A  little  afraid  of  the  rats,  Mr. 
Rosenbaum  ?"  laughs  Moliere,  for  the  lawyer  has  re- 
treated from  three  or  four  rodents  that  run  about 
his  feet. 

But  Ambigue  stops  his  jeering  monologue  as  the 
landlady  screams  in  puritanical  anger :  "I  have  found 


240          rA  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

her,  the  shameless  minx;  in  his  very  room — at  mid- 
night !"  and  bears  the  fainting  form  of  the  beautiful 
girl  out  of  the  trunk  closet. 

The  rats  had  overcome  Miss  Hammond's  nerves. 
She  had  fought  with  herself  and  bitten  her  lips  and 
clenched  her  teeth  to  keep  from  crying  out  and  de- 
livering herself  to  the  shame  of  discovery.  But  as  the 
little  animals,  grown  bold  by  darkness  and  familiar- 
ity with  her,  had  glided  about  her  pretty  feet  and 
romped  over  her  delicate  ankles,  and  one  had  clam- 
bered up  her  petticoat,  she  had  given  shiver  after 
shiver,  and,  still,  refusing  to  scream,  had  fainted 
upon  the  trunk  on  which  she  had  taken  refuge. 

But  now  she  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Philistines ;  the 
woman  who  has  a  mother's  rights  over  her  is  about  to 
bear  her  to  her  room  below,  muttering:  "Shameless 
jade,"  and  "Bread  and  water" ;  the  lawyer  who  would 
make  her  beauty  and  her  fortune  his  prey,  though  he 
scowls  in  malignant  jealousy  at  the  bohemian,  smiles 
triumphantly  as  he  shrewdly  cogitates  that  this  epi- 
sode will  justify  Madame  Perrique  in  locking  Miss 
Hammond  up  and  never  permitting  Ambigue  to  see 
her  again. 

Rosenbaum's  possessive  suavity  makes  Ambigue  a 
demon.  With  a  shriek  of  rage  he  drags  the  swooning 
girl  from  PerriquS's  arms,  crying:  "A vaunt,  didb- 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  QAEEET          241 

lessc!"  Getting  her  in  his  embrace,  he  sighs  over 
his  lovely  hurden  and  fondles  her,  muttering  wildly : 
"Did  they  treat  you  so  badly,  Mignonette,  you  had  to 
fly  up  here  to  escape  from  these  demons  ?  Was  Am- 
bigue's  poor  garret  your  only  place  of  refuge  in  all 
the  world?  Poor  as  I  am,  you  shall  not  leave  it. 
Darling,  we  will  starve  together!''  With  this  he 
caresses  the  sweet  lips  at  his  mercy  till  the  lawyer 
gnashes  his  teeth  in  rage  and  the  ex-schoolmarm 
blushes  frantically. 

"Wretch,  let  me  have  my  daughter!"  cries  Su- 
zanne sternly,  trying  to  drag  the  inanimate  G-ertrude 
from  him. 

"Never,  monster!  See  those  unshed  tears  upon 
her  eyelids.  Never!  She  has  fled  to  the  man  she 
loves ;  she  stays  here.  It  is  Mignonette  and  Gaspard 
now !" 

"Give  her  up,  you  illegal  scoundrel!"  commands 
Daniel  Webster,  advancing  on  him. 

"Dare  but  to  lay  a  hand  upon  her,  such  is  my  des- 
pair, I  seize  you  in  my  arms  and  spring  with  you  out 
of  that  window!"  cries  the  author.  Then,  as  the 
lawyer  shudders  from  him,  Ambigue  jeers  demonaic- 
ally:  "Diable,  what  a  joke  that  will  be  upon  the 
police.  They  will  not  know  whether  I  murdered  you 
or  you  assassinated  me!" 


242 

This  philosophical  suggestion  makes  both  Perri- 
que"  and  Rosenbaum  fly  in  panic  to  the  door  of  the 
room. 

"There  is  nothing  left  for  us  to  do  but  have  this 
man  arrested,"  the  landlady  whispers  with  pallid 
lips.  "Rosenbaum,  come  with  me.  We  will  get  gen- 
darmes." 

"Parbleu,  how  I  frightened  the  Harpies !"  chuckles 
the  bohemian  as  he  bears  his  still  swooning  sweet- 
heart to  a  long  provision  case  at  the  side  of  the  apart- 
ment, upon  which  she  can  recline,  and  places  her 
lovely  head  carefully  and  tenderly  upon  the  one 
cushion  in  the  room. 

Perrique,  standing  tremblingly  at  the  door,  emits 
a  shriek  of  rage,  for  Moliere  has  flown  into  her  store- 
room, brought  out  a  bottle  of  her  best  champagne, 
knocked  its  head  off,  and  by  the  aid  of  a  dilapidated 
tumbler  is  pouring  the  liquor  down  his  beloved's 
throat  as  he  despairingly  implores:  "Wake  up!  It 
is  thy  Gaspard,  Mignonette.  Wake  up  to  meet  with 
me  the  fate  of  the  starving  love  of  a  starving  wretch !" 

Her  purloined  champagne  makes  the  landlady 
vindictively  bold.  She  ventures  a  step  or  two  into 
the  apartment  and  throws  the  laurel  wreath,  that 
had  rested  forgotten  in  her  hand,  at  the  feet  of  Am- 
bigue,  crying  jeeringly:  "A  present  from  Rousette 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          243 

in  mockery  of  the  fate  of  your  miserable  play,  you 
dramatic  fraud!'* 

Then  she  timidly  darts  away  after  the  retreating 
Rosenbaum,  for  the  bohemian's  bearing  has  become 
terrific.  The  half-revived  Gertrude,  in  a  dazed, 
somnambulistic  way,  sees  him  stalk  the  room  like  a 
tragedy  ghost  and  hears  him  moan:  "Oh,  miserable 
plays  upon  which  I  have  lavished  my  life,  there  you 
lie  in  manuscript;  hopes  dead  and  buried,  pictures 
that  will  be  forever  turned  towards  the  wall,  laughs 
that  never  will  be  heard,  tragedies  that  never  will 
make  the  audience  weep.  I  will  burn  them,  I  will  de- 
stroy them!  I  have  wasted  my  manhood  on  them 
and  they  do  not  give  me  even  bread  for  the  woman 
I  love!" 

He  has  his  dramas  in  his  hand.  In  a  moment  they 
will  be  a  bonfire  over  the  flame  of  the  flickering 
candle,  when  from  the  street,  rising  clear  in  the  win- 
ter air  as  if  in  mockery,  is  heard  a  newsboy's  voice, 
coaiing  from  the  nearby  Rue  de  la  Fayette :  "Extra ! 
Petite  Presse  extra.  Great  success!  Theatre  Cluny! 
Romantic,  extraordinary  episode;  the  author  miss- 
ing!" 

Ambigue  drops  the  manuscripts.  "What  is  that 
the  boy  says?"  he  jeers.  "The  author  missing f 
Egad,  no  author  will  be  missed." 


244          A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

But  now,  through  the  window  he  had  entered  by 
and  only  partially  closed,  arises  the  voice  of  another 
street  gamin  holloing:  "Great  success  of  Moliere 
Shakespeare  Ambigue's  play  at  the  Theatre  Cluny! 
'The  Passions  of  Calypso' !" 

The  perspiration  of  excitement  bursts  out  upon 
the  author's  brow;  he  mutters  in  a  dazed  way: 
"Theatre  Cluny!  'The  Passions  of  Calypso'!"  then 
screams:  "My  theatre!  My  piece!  Man  Dieu, 
these  newsboys  have  been  sent  here  to  mock  me !  Or 
am  I  going  crazy  ?"  Suddenly  he  claps  his  hands  to 
his  eyes  and  shrieks:  "The  blow  has  fallen!  I  am 
mad!  Calypso,  my  love,  has  come  out  of  my  brain 
to  live  on  earth!"' 

Entering  the  little  doorway  of  his  garret,  and 
throwing  off  a  long  cloak,  is  Armande  de  Millefleurs, 
costumed  as  the  heroine  of  his  play.  Wishing  to 
make  quick  announcement  to  the  author,  she  had 
thrown  a  wrap  over  her  stage  dress  and  driven  to  the 
Rue  de  Provence.  Admitted  by  Alphonse,  who  has 
just  received  knowledge  of  Ambigue's  presence  in 
the  house,  she  has  insisted  upon  going  up  with  her 
good  news  to  the  successful  dramatist. 

With  her  white  arms  issuing  from  the  gauzes  of 
her  Grecian  costume  that  drapes  her  stately  yet 
graceful  figure,  she  stands  before  him  and  exclaims: 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  OARRET          245 

"Ambigue !  Genius !"  embracing  him  with  the  ferror 
of  an  actress  for  an  author  who  has  given  her  a  great 
and  triumphant  role.  "I  have"  come  straight  from 
the  theatre  to  tell  you.  Why  were  you  not  there  ?" 

"Where?"  stammers  Moliere,  pale  and  trembling. 

"At  the  Cluny  Theatre  to  receive  the  ovation  on 
the  success  of  your  play." 

"Bah,"  screams  the  bohemian,  "it  is  postponed  for 
a  year." 

"No;  it  was  played  to-night  to  the  greatest  ap- 
plause. They  called  for  you  again  and  again.  The 
manager  looked  for  you  to  embrace  you/'  answers 
Armande  enthusiastically. 

"A  manager  embrace  me!  Now  I  am  insane!" 
utters  the  dazed  author.  "And  you  in  the  costume  of 
my  Calypso!  Oh,  it  is  part  of  my  illusion.  I  am 
crazy!"  His  limbs  scarce  support  him,  but  he  ab- 
ruptly ejaculates:  "The  touch  of  these  white  arms  is 
real!"  and  gives  the  beautiful  members  little  unbe- 
lieving pinches  that  make  the  actress  squeal. 

"Crazy!  You  will  be  crazy  with  delight,"  half- 
shrieks  Armande,  trying  to  protect  her  arms.  "Here's 
an  extra — La  Petite  Presse — just  struck  off."  She 
extends  to  him  a  paper.  "Read  the  lines  there.  Read 
them  and  believe !" 

"Read  and  believe?"     The  bohemian  seizes  tht 


246          A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

journal  in  his  trembling  hand.  Holding  it  up  te  the 
flickering  candle,  he  mutters:  "Yes,  in  black  ink. 
'Great  Triumph !'  In  big  letters.  "The  advent  of  a 
new  genius!'  Mon  Dieu,  has  the  child  I  love  been 
born,  and  will  it  live  ?  My  play,  my  play !"  Tears 
dim  the  eyes  of  the  poor  author  who  has  suffered  so 
much  this  night. 

"Calm  yourself,  great  dramatist,"  whispers  Ar- 
mande,  and  her  white  arms  again  close  about  him, 
hohemian.  fashion.  "Grand  genius  that  I  made  by 
my  superb  acting."  She  gives  him  an  enthusiastic 
artistic  kiss. 

But  now  Ambigue  starts  from  the  actress.  A  pale 
faced  girl  has  staggered  up  and  is  gliding  with  tremb- 
ling limbs  silently  from  the  room.  In  the  dim  light 
she  looks  like  the  spirit  of  his  Mignonette,  whose 
pure  brown  eyes  gaze  reproachfully  upon  him.  He 
cries  rapturously:  "Thank  God,  my  Gertrude,  you 
have  recovered  your  senses  to  hear  of  my  superb 
triumph.  I  am  no  more  poor,  I  am  rich  enough  to 
give  you " 

Her  uplifted  hand  and  disdainful  face  stay  his 
voice.  "I — I  came  here  to  tell  you  of  the  success  of 
your  play  and  wish  you  joy  and  happiness  upon  it/' 
stammers  Miss  Hammond.  "But  you  have  learned 
by  dearer  lips."  She  turns  away. 


rA  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET  247 

"Dearer  lips — no,  no !  There  are  no  dearer  lips  on 
earth  than  yours/' 

To  this  the  young  American  lady  only  replies  with 
an  unbelieving  shudder. 

But  great  actresses  can  be  jealous  also.  Armande 
remarks  sneeringly :  "I  shall  retire  in  favor  of  made- 
moiselle. No  wonder  with  such  beauty  in  your  gar- 
ret, even  your  first  play  had  not  charm  enough  to 
take  you  this  evening  to  the  Theatre  Cluny." 

Gertrude  bows  her  head  in  shame. 

To  Miss  Hammond's  jealousy  of  the  fascinating 
actress  is  now  added  a  poignant  abasement  and  hu- 
miliating reproach.  She  has  endured  the  ignominy 
of  being  discovered  in  hiding  at  midnight  in  Am- 
bigue's  apartment — and  for  what?  To  see  a  woman 
who  had  racked  her  heart  before,  rack  it  again;  {6 
behold  this  actress  caress  the  author  with  the  en- 
thusiasm of  an  artiste  who  has  just  played  his  great 
role ;  to  hear  Armande  de  Millefleurs  tell  the  tale  of 
success  to  the  ears  of  the  man  whose  triumph  her 
generosity  had  made  possible. 

By  a  mighty  effort  she  says  icily :  "I  beg  you  to  ex- 
cuse me,  sir.  No  wonder  this  woman  acted  superbly 
to  make  the  triumph  of  the  man  she  loves." 

"Oh,  I  always  act  superbly !"  asserts  Armande  with 
the  modesty  of  the  true  artist. 


248  A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

But  Gertrude  pays  no  more  attention  to  her.  She 
staggers  towards  the  door,  saying  brokenly :  "Permit 
me  to  retire,  Monsieur.  Madame  Perrique  was 
right." 

This  is  answered  hy  a  snort  of  joy.  Miss  Ham- 
mond's new  mother  and  Rosenbaum  have  come 
cautiously  in  backed  by  two  sturdy  gendarmes.  These 
stand  at  the  door,  barring  exit. 

"Ah,  at  last  you  believe  in  the  faithlessness  of  this 
wretch.  My  poor  child!"  In  maternal  solicitude 
Suzanne  opens  her  arms. 

These  look  to  Ambigue  like  the  claws  of  a  bird 
of  prey. 

He  cries  out :  "No,  no !  I  forbid  you  to  leave  the 
room  with  your  victim !" 

"Your  victim !"  answers  Rosenbaum.  "Step  aside, 
sir,  or  the  police  will  act."  To  this  he  adds  sus- 
piciously :  "Some  one  has  run  away  from  the  room !" 

In  this  he  is  right,  for  Armande,  after  gazing 
twice  in  astounded  unbelieving  affright  upon  the  law- 
yer's face,  has  gasped  to  herself:  "In  pursuit  of  my 
salary!"  and  glided  into  the  closet  in  which  Miss 
Hammond  had  once  battled  with  the  rats. 

Despite  her  misery,  Moliere  notices  this  and  grins 
even  as  his  sweetheart  says  proudly:  "No,  no;  I'll 
not  have  a  divided  love.  iMonsieur,  let  me  go  from 
here." 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         249 

Then,  were  not  the  bohemian  in  many  respects  a 
great  man,  in  the  moment  of  his  success  he  would  lose 
his  love.  But  he  understands  the  varying  passions 
of  woman  and  knows  that  if  Miss  Hammond  turns 
her  back  on  him  now  she  turns  her  back  on  him  for- 
ever. He  cries  sternly :  "By  my  love,  I  command  you 
to  remain!  On  the  night  of  my  happiness  and 
triumph  you  shall  not  misunderstand  my  heart." 

'Tour  heart  I  understand  too  well !"  The  young 
lady  sighs,  but  moves  haughtily  towards  the  door. 

"But  do  you  understand  his?"  Ambigue's  finger 
is  directed  to  the  triumphant  Rosenbaum.  "Do  you 
understand  hers?"  The  bohemian's  gaunt  digit  is 
shaken  at  the  elated  Perrique.  "Think  how  Gaspard 
loved  you,  Mignonette,  and  be  romantic!"  he  im- 
plores. 

Just  for  an  instant  at  the  mention  of  his  old  time 
name  an  answering  flash  dispels  the  frigidity  of  Miss 
Hammond's  exquisite  face. 

Noting  this,  Daniel  Webster  says  sternly  to  the 
gendarmes,  who  have  seated  themselves  upon  con- 
venient packing  cases  and  gazed  inquiringly  upon 
the  strange  scene:  "Officers,  arrest  this  man!" 

"For  what?"  asks  Moliere. 

"For  the  forgery  of  those  letters  by  which  you 
lured  men  into  Madame  Perrique's  house.  As  her 


250         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

mother,  my  client  will  prosecute  you  for  using  her 
adopted  daughter's  name/' 

"Sacre  bleu,  the  name  of  my  love  is  sacred.  Don't 
dare  to  mix  it  up  with  police  details.  If  you  do,  be- 
ware!" Ambigue's  manner  is  imposing.  "And  if 
you,  Madame  Perrique,  in  your  assumed  motherhood 
of  this  girl  for  purposes  of  your  own,  try  to  make 
her  marry  this  scoundrel  lawyer,  you  I  will  annihi- 
late !w 

"Oh,  heavens,  he's  making  threats!"  snivels  Su- 
zanne. 

"Threats  I  will  keep.  Eosenbaum,  be  careful  of 
yourself.  I  have  in  the  third  act  of  my  comedy,  en- 
titled 'The  Shadow  of  a  Crow/  the  means  of  oblit- 
erating you."  Gazing  at  his  sweetheart,  who  stands 
icy  as  a  statue  before  him,  Moliere  knows  she  is  dead 
to  his  passion  until  he  startles  her  from  her  lethargy 
of  wounded  pride.  He  prepares  to  act. 

"Nonsense!"  jeers  the  lawyer.  "As  you  are  a 
Frenchman,  it  is  useless  to  call  you  a  lunatic."  This 
speech  isn't  a  wise  one;  it  makes  the  two  gendarmes 
his  enemies  at  once. 

"As  you  are  an  American  shyster,"  retorts  Am- 
bigue  airily,  "it  is  useless  to  call  you  anything  else. 
Instead  of  arresting  me,  I  shall  have  these  remark- 
ably fine  gendarmes  arrest  you" 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          251 

The  two  guardians  of  the  law  spring  up  alertly. 

"Arrest  me?  Monstrous,  absurd!"  guffaws  the 
New  Orleans  practitioner.  "Arrest  me — for  what?" 

"For  being  husband  of  one  woman  and  attempting 
to  marry  another!" 

"Your  proofs  ?"  cries  Daniel  Webster  mockingly. 

"Behold  them  in  that  closet!" 

A  piercing  shriek  interrupts  him. 

"Hear  the  proofs  squeal  among  the  rats!"  grins 
Ambigue. 

With  a  quick  stride  he  is  in  the  cabinet  and  draw- 
ing the  screaming  Armande  out,  a  couple  of  rodents 
hanging  to  her  Greek  costume,  he  says:  "Permit 
me  to  introduce  your  wife  Euphrosne,  of  the  New 
Orleans  Theatre,  now  famous  as  Armande  de  Mille- 
fleurs." 

"Armande  de  Millefleurs!"  shudders  Gertrude,  a 
tinge  of  disgust  in  her  sweet  voice. 

"The  actress!"  screams  Madame  Perrique1,  and  all 
utter  exclamations  of  astonishment. 

Armande  may  be  timid  about  rats,  but  she  is  not 
frightened  of  her  lost  husband.  She  says :  "You  vil- 
lain! Have  you  dared  to  follow  me  to  France  to 
steal  my  salary?" 

"Holy  Moses!"  gasps  Daniel  Webster,  staggering 
back,  his  eyes  rolling  in  his  head,  as  Ambigue  ob- 


252          'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

serves  dramatically :  "Quick  curtain !  Heroine  faint- 
ing in  the  arms  of  the  man  she  loves,"  and  is  about 
to  seize  upon  the  exquisite  Gertrude. 

But  the  young  American  lady  draws  herself  up 
proudly  and  smites  his  heart  with  this  logical  propo- 
sition: "Proving  that  man  to  be  a  villain  doesn't 
prove  you  to  be  innocent  \" 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  PRINCE  IN  THE  ATTIC. 

Here  Ambigue  is  compelled  for  the  moment  to  de- 
vote himself  to  another  affair.  The  great  actress, 
drawn  up  like  the  Grecian  Juno,  is  looking  upon  Ros- 
enbaum  and  demanding:  "You,  my  husband,  dared 
to  approach  with  words  of  love  another!  Miserable 
wretch — when  you  were  wedded  to  me  in  New  Or- 
leans, where  you  stole  my  weekly  salary." 

"Monster,"  cries  Ambigue,  anxious  to  stand  well 
with  the  great  actress,  "about  to  crown  your  infamy 
by  committing  bigamy." 

"Your  proofs?"  remarks  Daniel  nonchalantly,  in 
lawyer's  habit. 

"Proofs?"'  echoes  Gertrude  indignantly,  "when  I 
have  three  letters  from  you  tendering  marriage  to 
me." 

"My  dear  young  lady,"  returns  the  lawyer  suave- 
ly, "don't  misunderstand  me.    My  suit  to  you  is  and 
has  been  perfectly  honorable   and  perfectly  legal 
From  this  claimant  I  have  been  divorced." 
253 


254         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

"Immoral  American  divorces  don't  count  in  moral 
France!"  jeers  Ambigue. 

At  this  truthful  legal  exposition,  the  lawyer  turns 
upon  him  angrily. 

But  Armande,  who  has  that  peculiar  emotional  ar- 
tistic nature  which  requires  the  undying  adoration  of 
all  men  who  have  been  her  lovers,  suddenly  bursts 
into  a  torrent  of  tears  and  sobs:  "Divorced?  Oh, 
Dan;  my  sweet  Daniel,  when  the  very  handkerchief 
you  have  in  your  pocket" — she  pulls  one  from  his 
coat-tail — "was  embroidered  by  me !"  adding  angrily : 
"You  will  not  deny  this  lingerie  at  the  Tribunate  of 
Police  Correctionale." 

"Very  well,"  answers  Rosenbaum  savagely,  "if  to- 
morrow in  the  police  court  I  am  declared  your  hus- 
band, I  seize  your  salary.  I  know  enough  of  French 
law  for  that,  Madame!" 

"Fiend!"  shudders  the  great  artiste,  "and  I  have 
just  had  a  raise." 

But  Ambigue  is  between  them,  imploring:  "N<^ 
no;  that  would  involve  the  ruin  of  my  play  if  you 
took  her  salary;  she  wouldn't  act,  dear  Eosenbaum. 
Would  you  distract  your  great  wife  from  her  im- 
mortal role?  My  God,  be  reconciled.  She  gets  a 
thousand  francs  a  week — touch  Rousette  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  more.  Be  reunited,  and  this  night 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         255 

in  each  other's  arms  bless  Ambigue  for  making  you 
love  again." 

"Oh,  Dan/*  falters  the  great  actress.  "You  used 
to  love  me  in  New  Orleans."  Dan  is  not  a  great 
beauty,  but  he  has  once  been  hers  and  no  other  wo- 
man shall  have  him. 

"Twelve  hundred  and  fifty  francs — I  might  love 
again/'  whispers  the  lawyer  ardently.  He  knows 
that  he  has  lost  Miss  Hammond,  and  if  he  cannot 
catch  the  big  fish  will  subsist  upon  the  smaller  one. 
So  Rosenbaum,  Armande  and  Madame  Perrique  get 
into  a  three-cornered  discussion,  the  landlady  again 
demanding  her  unpaid  board  bill  from  the  actress. 

Miss  Hammond  is  moving  towards  the  door  of  the 
room.  With  a  bound  Ambigue  is  after  her.  His 
gaunt  fingers  clutch  her  rounded  wrist.  He  whispers 
frantically :  "How  could  I,  knowing  that  woman  had 
a  husband,  make  love  to  her?" 

"With  my  own  eyes  I  saw  her  kiss  you !"  Oh,  the 
reproach  of  those  lovely  orbs. 

"Merely  the  salute  of  a  great  actress  to  an  author. 
Kisses  are  common  in  bohemian  Paris  as  flakes  of 
snow  upon  a  winter's  night.  Oh,  my  sweet  innocent, 
your  young  life  has  been  that  of  a  schoolroom,  not 
that  of  the  artistic  world.  The  kisses  of  genius  are 
no  more  than  shaking  hands  in  primer  circles.  Every 


256          'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

prima  donna  who  makes  a  furor  at  Des  Italiens  ex- 
pects to  be  saluted  by  the  great  maestros,  Eossini 
and  Auber.  'Tis  proof  of  her  success.  Armande," 
he  calls  out,  "will  you  explain  to  this  young  lady 
how  little  your  kisses  mean." 

"Hang  it,  sir,"  answers  Eosenbaum  jealously,  "did 
you  dare  let  my  wife  kiss  you?'' 

"Oh,  he's  villain  enough  to  do  anything,"  asserts 
Madame  Perrique'  ferociously. 

"To  a  woman  of  your  advanced  age,  all  men  are 
villains — they  cannot  love  you!"  retorts  Ambigue. 
To  the  pale  beauty  confronting  him  he  whispers: 
"Still,  whether  I  lose  or  win  you,  I'll  protect  you 
from  this  miserable  woman,  who  has  some  selfish  in- 
terest of  her  own  in  your  sweet  life.  If  you  had 
listened  in  that  closet,  you  would  have  learned  'twas 
thought  of  your  peril  that  kept  me  from  suicide  while 
I  wandered  despairing  by  the  Seine  to-night." 

"Yes,  I — I  heard  that,"  utters  Gertrude  faintly. 

"Then  you  must  know  that  I  adore  you.  Inspect 
the  records  of  the  buried  past  and  become  romantic !" 
cries  the  erratic  Ambigue.  With  this,  to  the  as- 
tonishment of  them  all,  he  flies  to  the  books  and  docu- 
ments of  PerriquS's  old  school.  Tossing  them  to  the 
girl,  whose  mask  of  icy  hauteur  is  being  torn  from 
her,  lie  cries :  "Eead  these  and  see  that  Gaspard  loved 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         257 

you.  Every  punishment  placed  upon  you  as  a  school- 
girl was  because  you  were  my  idol.  I  worshipped  at 
the  altar,  you  were  the  sacrifice,  Perrique  the  stern 
high  priestess.  When  you  wrote  five  hundred  times, 
*I  must  not  look  from  the  window  upon  Gaspard,'  it 
meant  my  adoration.  When  you  had  bread  and  water 
and  solitary  confinement,  it  was  because  I  threw 
violets  into  your  window.  Aha,  here  is  one  little 
withered  offering,  the  record  of  our  sweet  affinity.'' 
From  the  old  bookcase  he  picks  a  bunch  of  faded 
violets,  kisses  them,  sinks  on  one  knee  and  presses 
the  scentless  blossoms  into  her  faltering  hand,  sigh- 
ing: "You  remember  them — from  Gaspard  to  Mig- 
nonette? Is  our  true  love  withered  like  the  flowers 
which  told  our  passion  ?" 

"Oh,  if  I  could  believe  them,"  sighs  his  sweetheart. 
"Yes,  yes,  your  writing/'  she  looks  upon  the  yellow 
card  attached.  "You  were  true  to  me  then." 

"As  I  am  true  to  you  now,"  whispers  the  bohemian 
in  frantic  tone.  "As  I  have  always  been  true  to  you. 
Do  you  suppose,  with  you  in  my  heart  of  hearts,  that 
I  would  be  villain  enough  to  love  ought  but — Mig- 
nonette?" 

Ambigue's  face,  inspired  by  love  and  hope,  has  lost 
its  worn  appearance.  He  begins  to  look  to  Miss 
Hammond  like  the  light  hearted  Gaspard  of  her 
school  days.  Her  eyes  begin  to  beam  into  his. 


258         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

But  their  glances  are  interrupted  by  a  noise  in 
the  closet  marked  "Linen."  During  the  last  few 
minutes,  Georgina,  who  has  been  stoutly  and  silently 
battling  with  the  rats,  not  daring  to  come  out  for  fear 
Perrique  will  discover  her  hiding  in  a  gentleman's 
chamber,  suddenly  succumbs  to  a  monster  who  has 
crawled  up  her  crinoline,  and  yells:  "The  rats  are 
biting  me !  Let  me  out !  Save  my  life !  The  rats ! 
The  rats!" 

Her  shrieks  produce  general  consternation  and 
confusion;  the  actress,  with  great  display  of  Grecian 
sandals  and  classic  tights,  springs  upon  a  packing 
case,  and  the  gendarmes,  drawing  their  swords,  take 
refuge  from  the  rodents  in  the  same  exalted  manner, 
while  Gertrude,  gathering  her  skirts  about  her  pretty, 
ankles,  shudderingly  turns  to  fly. 

But  Perrique,  being  of  stronger  nerves,  now  scoffs : 
"It's  that  wretched  Georgina.  I  wondered  what  had 
become  of  her!"  Gliding  to  her  adopted  daughter, 
she  whispers:  "Perhaps  now,  with  that  impish  For- 
tescue  girl  as  another  sweetheart  in  his  room,  you 
still  believe  in  your  scribbling  Don  Juan,  my  child." 

Fortunately,  Ambigue  doesn't  hear  this.  He  has 
flown  into  the  closet  and  is  bearing  young  Mrs.  Hor- 
ton  out  in  his  arms.  He  seats  himself  paternally 
upon  a  provision  box  with  ;the  short-skirted  matron 


rA  PRINCE  IN_THE  GARRET          259 

upon  his  lap,  and  observes  sympathetically:  "The 
child  has  fainted.  Ah,  Madame  Perrique",  she  was 
hiding  from  your  severity.  Quick,  something  to 
stimulate  her!" 

Alphonse,  who  has  just  come  breathlessly  into  the 
garret,  rushes  to  the  provision  closet  and  returns 
with  a  flask  of  brandy. 

"This  will  revive  you,  petite"  observes  the  drama- 
tist, as  all  but  the  landlady  draw  round  him,  for 
Georgina  is  spluttering  as  he  pours  the  liquor  down 
her  throat. 

Probably  Madame  Perrique"  would  join  the  circle, 
but  a  young  gentleman  in  traveling  tweeds  dashes 
into  the  door,  looks  astonished,  and  mutters:  "That 
fool  of  a  waiter,  to  bring  me  up  here  to  the  attic!" 
Seeing  the  landlady,  he  leads  her  apart  and  hastily 
whispers:  "Don't  you  remember  me — Georgina's 
brother.  I  have  come  to  get  her.  Just  arrived  from 
Cannes,  Madame  Perrique — detained  there  by  the 
measles,  as  you  know — totally  recovered.  Midnight 
train — I  couldn't  wait  Where  is  my  sweet  Geor- 
gina?" 

"Oh,  yes,  of  course,  you  are  Jack.  I  remember 
you !"  answers  Madame  Perrique.  "As  you  wished,  I 
have  kept  your  sister,  Mr.  Fortescue,  very  straight  in 
childish  innocence." 


260         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

Here  a  piercing  shriek  is  emitted  by  Georgina,  for 
Ambigue  has  murmured:  "Courage,  pauvre  petite!" 
and  kissed  her  paternally. 

At  his  bride's  voice,  the  young  Englishman  flying 
from  the  rear  of  the  garret,  exclaims  in  horror :  "My 
God,  that  villain  is  kissing  my  wife!"  and  would 
clutch  the  dramatist  by  the  throat. 

But  the  two  gendarmes  and  Alphonse  hold  him 
back. 

"Your  wife?''  exclaims  everybody,  as  Ambigue 
stands  the  short  skirted  Georgina  on  the  floor. 

Holding  out  her  hands,  young  Mrs.  Horton  loving- 
ly cries :  "Jack,  my  Jack !" 

"How  dare  you  kiss  her,  sir!"  yells  Horton,  shak- 
ing his  fist  as  he  struggles  with  the  gendarmes. 

"Merely  the  salute  of  a  father  to  a  child,"  observes 
the  dramatist  urbanely. 

At  this  the  young  husband  would  probably  be  more 
belligerent  were  he  not  so  astounded  at  his  bride's 
long  pigtail  and  juvenile  costume.  He  gasps  savage- 
ly, glaring  about  morosely  at  everyone:  "Who  has 
dared  to  put  my  wife  in  short  skirts?" 

"I  did,"  replies  Madame  Perrique,  "  to  keep  men 
from  making  love  to  her.  You  requested  me  to  stop 
Georgina  flirting.  As  a  school-girl  she  was  immune 
from  masculine  attentions." 


A  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET         2G1 

"Immune  from  masculine  attentions !"  shrieks  the 
indignant  bridegroom.  "That  ragged  wretch  had 
her  on  his  knee  kissing  her." 

"Pish,  mine  was  but  a  baby  kiss,"  laughs  the  bo- 
hemian. 

"Dash  it!  Faithless  one,  why  did  you  let  him 
think  you  a  baby  ?''  breaks  out  Jack,  upon  his  flutter- 
ing spouse. 

But  his  bride  is  round  his  neck  now,  sobbing: 
"Don't  be  angry,  Jack.  It's  all  your  fault,  staying 
away  because  you  had  the  measles.  I'd  have  loved 
you  if  it  had  been  the  small  pox." 

This  pleasant  mention  of  malignant  diseases  makes 
nearly  every  one  in  the  garret  give  the  young  couple 
a  rather  wide  berth.  But  Madame  Perrique,  who 
fears  nothing,  dashes  upon  them.  "And  you  said 
you  were  her  brother,"  she  asserts  severely  to  Jack. 
"Don't  dare  to  try  to  browbeat  me.  You  said  your 
name  was  Fortescue.  Good  heavens,  you've  eloped 
with  Georgina;  that's  the  reason  you  dared  not  tell 
me!  No  wonder  you  didn't  wish  your  wife  to  flirt. 
There's  also  another  week's  board  due."  And  in  a 
retired  nook,  cut  off  by  two  big  packing  cases,  the 
three  go  into  an  animated  domestic  discussion. 

The  lawyer  and  Armando  are  still  squabbling  over 
matrimonial  compromise;  the  gendarmes  are  en- 


262         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GAEEET 

gaged  in  a  campaign  against  the  rats,  as  Alphonse) 
hearing  the  front  door  bell  ring,  leaves  the  garret. 

"Observe,  Miss  Hammond,"  remarks  Ambigue 
morosely,  "had  you  not  seen  with  your  own  eyes,  you 
might  have  again  misconstrued  my  innocent  atten- 
tions to  that  child  bride.  Beware  of  appearances, 
Mademoiselle.  "Pis  easier  to  wound  the  heart  than 
to  heal  it." 

"Oh,  you  are  cruel  to  me  now,"  murmurs  the  re- 
proached one  sadly,  with  trembling  lips.  She  re- 
members that  this  man,  when  to-night  a  starving  out- 
cast, thought  of  her  peril,  not  of  his  despair. 

At  this  moment  Rosenbaum,  who,  having  lost  his 
chance  of  winning  Gertrude,  wishes  to  destroy  the 
bohemian's  also,  suddenly  observes  maliciously :  "Oh, 
he  won't  be  cruel  to  you  long,  my  dear  Miss  Ham- 
mond, when  he  knows  how  rich  you  are."  Then  he 
calls :  "I  wonder,  Madame  Perrique,  you  let  this  out-* 
at-elbows  fellow  make  love  to  your  daughter,  who  is 
now  an  heiress." 

"Heiress!"  ejaculates  the  landlady,  coming  to  the 
front  astounded.  "You  said  Gertie  had  only  a  thous- 
and dollars  or  so  at  the  American  Consul's." 

"Aha,  that's  all  you  know!"  laughs  Rosenbaum. 
"Take  good  care  of  your  adopted  daughter.  At  the 
American  Consul's  you  will  learn  that  Miss  Ham- 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          2G3 

mond,  by  the  death  of  her  California  uncle,  who 
owned  a  gold  mine  among  other  things,  has  had  left 
to  her  solely  and  individually  an  estate  considerably 
exceeding  a  million  dollars." 

Though  the  young  lady  had  already  heard  this 
from  the  American  Consul,  until  this  man's  own 
words  she  had  scarce  been  able  to  believe  Kosenbaum's 
dastard  perfidy  possible.  She  merely  looks  at  him, 
2ontempt  in  her  sweet  face,  and  murmurs:  "You 
knew  I  was  wealthy,  and  yet  let  me  suffer  even  hun- 
ger in  Paris!" 

"I — I  didn't  wish  to  make  you  think  me  a  fortune 
hunter  by  telling  you  of  my  desire  for  you,  when 
you  knew  that  you  were  rich." 

This  ingenious  yet  sophistical  assertion  is  received 
by  the  gentle  but  spirited  girl  with  an  unbelieving 
scoff,  though  she  reproaches  the  fellow  no  more,  re- 
membering that  the  American  Consul  had  said  he 
would  have  Mr.  Daniel  Webster  Rosenbaum  disbarred 
as  lawyer  for  his  atrocious  action  in  the  matter. 

But  this  revelation  has  a  crushing  effect  upon  the 
bohemian;  he  mutters  brokenly:  "Over  a  million 
dollars — over  five  million  francs !  My  God,  were  you 
to  love  me  they  would  say  I  am  as  great  a  villain  as 
that  scoundrel." 

"So  you  are,  wretch!"  asserts  Madame  Perrique 


2G4         A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

promptly;  then  she  commands  sternly  and  proudly: 
"Take  your  hands  off  my  daughter,  the  American 
heiress !" 

"Heiress !"  shrieks  Ambigue.  "Bah,  it's  all  impos- 
sible. It  is  a  dream.  You,  Gertrude,  were  starving 
and  are  Dives — and  I,  who  was  an  outcast,  am  the 
idol  of  Paris.  Somebody  kiss  Madame  Perrique,  and 
then  I'll  know  that  I  am  crazy." 

To  dispel  Moliere's  illusion  the  manager  of  the 
Theatre  Cluny  enters  hastily.  Shown  in  by  Al- 
phonse,  he  mutters:  "Mon  Dieu,  what  a  beastly 
hole!"  then  observes  cheerily:  "But  tallow  candles, 
attics  and  hunger  produce  genius,  Ambigue,  my 
dear  boy!"  and  embraces  him  effusively.  "I  pro- 
duced your  play  to-night.  It  made  the  greatest  suc- 
cess of  my  career." 

"Eousette,"  scowls  the  dramatist,  shaking  the 
manager  off,  "why  didn't  you  notify  me  so  that  I 
might  have  enjoyed  the  first  flash  of  triumph  in  my 
life?" 

"A  thousand  apologies,  my  dear  fellow;  I  thought 
you  knew." 

"Knew!"  growls  Ambigue,  surlily,  "I  knew  I  had 
your  cursed  letter  saying  you  postponed  'Calypso' !" 

Here  the  manager  again  astounds  the  author;  he 
replies:  "But  the  money  that  guaranteed  the  ex- 
penses of  your  play's  production  came  from  you !" 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          265 

"The  money — from  me!"  The  bohemian  half- 
reels,  taps  his  head  and  stammers  with  pale  lips: 
"Diable,  I  must  be  madder  than  I  thought!" 

Gazing  on  him,  timid  and  ashamed,  Gertrude 
trembles,  fearing  he  will  guess  her  bounty. 

"I  am  too  much  of  a  business  man,  my  dear  fel- 
low, to  let  little  differences  between  manager  and 
author  stand  in  the  way/'  observes  Rousette,  rapidly. 
"I  could  not  refuse  to  produce  your  play  with  your 
money  in  my  hand." 

"My  money  in  your  hand?"  gasps  the  dramatist. 
"Egad,  I  wish  it  were  in  my  hand.  Then  I  might 
believe." 

"This  six  thousand  francs  to  guarantee  me  against 
loss  for  one  week's  production  I  will  return  to  you 
to-morrow,"  continues  the  manager.  "In  fact,  I  may 
as  well  return  it  to  you  now.  Your  drama  is  not 
only  superb,  magnificent — but  it  has  created  a  furor. 
The  advance  sales  already  indicate  a  prodigious  run ! 
I  want  all  of  your  plays." 

"Take  them!*'  answers  the  bohemian  carelessly, 
kicking  a  big  case  full  of  manuscripts.  "I  have  only 
fifty.  But  you  have  six  thousand  francs  for  me. 
That's  the  greatest  illusion  of  my  life.  Now  I  must 
be  more  than  crazy." 

"Oh,  no,  you  are  not.  See,  I  return  them  to  you. 
.Will  this  make  you  know  you  are  sane  ?" 


266          A  PRINCE  IN  THE  OAEEET 

Rousette  draws  out  his  pocketbook  and  places  upon 
the  table  a  packet  of  bills  that  causes  the  dramatist's 
eyes  to  grow  glassy  in  his  head  with  amazement. 
"They  came  to  me  with  these  two  lines:  'Moliere 
Shakespeare  Ambigue's  guarantee  for  a  week's  per- 
formance of  'Calypso.' " 

"My  name,  but  not  my  handwriting!"  ejaculates 
the  author,  seizing  the  paper. 

Miss  Hammond's  face  is  now  red  as  a  summer 
rose ;  she  falters  to  an  obscure  nook  of  the  garret. 

But  Ambigue  is  examining  the  writing,  crying  ex- 
citedly:  "del,  I  have  seen  this  chirography  before — 
a  girl's  hand — where?  Ah,  Madame  Perrique's  im- 
position book."  Glancing  over  the  pages,  he  ex- 
claims: "Alice  Ballard?  No!  Georgina  Fortescue? 
— a  hand  like  a  butcher  boy's ;''  then  gasps :  "An  im- 
position, one  hundred  lines,  'I  must  not  bite  my  nails 
in  school,  Gertrude  Hammond.'  The  same  dear 
handwriting."  Darting  upon  the  abashed  young 
lady,  he  draws  her  to  the  centre  of  the  room;  here, 
kneeling  at  her  feet,  he  kisses  her  hand  and  remarks : 
"Perrique  is  right  These  sweet  little  finger  nails 
must  not  be  bitten.  It  is  a  bad  habit  for  an  angel." 

"You — you  know !"  His  sweetheart  hides  her  face 
in  her  hands  and  tries  to  struggle  from  him. 

"That  you  are  an  angel  who  used  the  first  install- 


'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET          2G7 

ment  of  your  grand  fortune  to  give  the  art  of  poor 
despairing  Ambigue  one  chance — God  bless  you! 
And  yet,  I  want  not  your  money/'  he  asserts  proudly 
and  points  to  the  packet  of  bills.  "Success  has  given 
me  money  of  my  own,"  then  calls  out  cheerfully: 
"Rousette,  I'll  trouble  you  for  a  little  advance 
royalty." 

"I  have  not  much  in  my  pocket,"  says  the  manager, 

good-humoredly,  "but  if  a  hundred-franc  bill " 

he  passes  Ambigue  a  note. 

"'Twill  do  till  the  morrow!"  observes  the  bo- 
hemian,  arrogantly. 

The  American  lawyer  now  comes  eagerly  towards 
them.  "Rousette,  as  manager  of  the  Theatre  Cluny, 
I  serve  you  with  legal  notice  to  pay  my  wife's  salary 
to  me,"  he  says  commandingly. 

"Oh,  Dan,  do  let  me  have  a  little  of  it,"  implores 
the  great  artiste. 

"Not  a  cent  unless  you  love  me  like  blazes,"  cries 
the  lawyer,  impressively. 

"I  adore  you,"  murmurs  Armande,  and  falls  into 
his  arms. 

"Ah,  reconciled,"  grins  Ambigue,  then  whispers  to 
Rousette,  with  a  wink:  "For  a  week." 

His  manner  is  now  that  of  the  old  regime;  he 
struts  the  floor  like  a  marquis  or  a  duke.  "Alphonse, 


268          'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

I  never  gave  you  a  tip  before.  Take  this!"  HQ 
hands  the  waiter  the  hundred-franc  bill  just  received 
from  the  manager.  "My  first  royalties.  There's  a 
case  of  champagne  in  that  storeroom" — his  finger 
indicates  the  grocery  closet. 

"I'm  onto  it/'  answers  the  waiter,  and  darts  away 
for  glasses. 

"Not  my  champagne!"  shouts  Madame  Perrique, 
savagely.  "And  you  hope  to  wed  my  daughter  with- 
out my  consent.  Till  she  is  twenty-five  years  of  age, 
according  to  French  law,  I  am  her  guardian." 

"But — but  the  American  Consul  told  me  my  whole 
fortune  was  in  America,  and  I  could  wed  in  Eng- 
land," answers  Miss  Hammond,  with  spirit.  Then 
her  sweet  voice  pleads  in  softer  tone:  "Oh,  Madame 
Perrique,  permit  me  to  be  generous  to  you  because 
you  gave  me  bread  when  I  was  starving;  don't  force 
me  to  become  your  enemy  by  not  letting  me  marry 
whom  I  please." 

The  landlady  knows  on  which  side  her  bread  is 
buttered.  She  ejaculates:  "My  darling;  of  course, 
you  shall  do  as  you  please,  but  this  is  absurd — to 
think  of  wedding  a  poor  bohemian — you  with  a  for- 
tune worthy  of  a  prince." 

"Then  she  shall  wed  a  prince!"  asserts  Ambigue, 
arrogantly.  "Nothing  is  too  good  for  Mignonette. 
I  am  a  prince!" 


A  PRINCE  IN  TEE  GARRET         2C9 

At  this  extraordinary  declaration  exclamations  of 
surprise  arise  in  chorus,  and  Rosenbaum  jeers:  "By 
poker  chips,  a  potentate !" 

"Why  this  astonishment!"  observes  Moliere,  suave- 
ly. "Is  it  unusual  for  American  heiresses  to  wed 
French  titles?  I  can  give  you,  dear  heart — "  he 
kisses  Gertrude's  hand — "a  name  that,  before  the 
Revolution  swept  away  the  old  noblesse,  was  very 
near  the  king's,  and  better  right  to  it  than  many  a 
parvenu  aristocrat.  It  is  not  well  for  a  prince  to 
have  his  toes  protruding  from  his  boots,  so  I*  starved 
under  a  nom  de  plume.  It  would  have  been  hideous 
to  have  the  world  scoff :  'Monsieur  le  Prince  de  Rohan 
has  not  enough  food  to  put  into  his  aristocratic 
mouth/" 

At  the  mention  of  this  august  name  all  stare  at 
Ambigue  as  if  they  think  him  really  mad. 

"The  Prince  de  Rohan!"  ejaculates  the  manager, 
unbelievingly.  "The  last  member  of  that  illustrious 
house,  a  cardinal,  I  think,  died  thirty  years  ago." 

"There  was  a  brother  who  passed  away  in  the 
massacres  of  the  French  Revolution,  who  left  a  little 
boy  concealed  in  Brittany.  To  save  his  life  another 
name  was  given  him.  I,  his  son,  can  prove  it  by  these 
papers.  The  estates  confiscated,  all  grandeur's  dead 
but  the  title,  which  lives  in  me!"  answers  Moliere 


270         'A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

fishing  out  of  a  dilapidated  portmanteau  beneath  his 
cot  a  little  metallic  case  of  documents.  ''These 
scrolls  prove  it!  In  fact,  the  only  things  real  about 
me  are  my  genius,  my  title  and  my  love  for  you."  He 
has  seized  his  sweetheart's  hand  and  is  whispering 
excitedly  to  her  ear  fervent  prayers  of  adoration. 

"Oh,  jingo,  a  future  princess !"  screams  Georgina, 
and  kisses  Gertrude  wildly. 

"Oh,  you  dear  potentate !"  cries  Madame  Perrique, 
and  has  Moliere  round  the  neck. 

"Grand  Dieu,  with  the  'Prince  de  Rohan'  on  the 
bills,!,"  exclaims  the  manager,  excitedly,  "your  play 
will  hold  the  boards  a  thousand  nights." 

"Pish,  let  it  run  upon  its  merits !"  scoffs  Ambigue. 

"But  I — I  don't  want  your  title,"  falters  Gertrude. 

"And  I  have  no  use  for  your  fortune,"  laughs  her 
lover.  "But  husband  and  wife  must  bear  each  other's 
burdens.  Under  these  circumstances,  permit  me  to 
invite  everybody  here  to  a  bohemian  supper  in  honor 
of  the  coming  Princesse  de  Rohan." 

"Agreed!"  cries  Armande;  while  the  two  gen- 
darmes seize  sausages  at  once. 

"Everybody  help  themselves,  and  Alphonse,  the 
champagne,  quick!"  commands  Ambigue,  passing  a 
bologna  to  his  blushing  yet  laughing  fiancee,  while  the 
rest  in  short  order  fall  upon  the  provisions.  Even 


A  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET         271 

young  Horton  seems  to  have  an  appetite  from  hia 
railroad  journey. 

"It  is  our  last  feast  in  the  land  of  famine!"  re- 
marks the  triumphant  author.  "To-morrow  night — 
I  have  waited  too  long  already — why  not  a  wedding 
supper,  Mignonette?  Aha,  those  carmine  cheeks, 
petite — bride's  blushes,  bride's  blushes !" 

For  Gertrude  has  hid  her  lovely  head  upon  his 
shoulder  and  murmured:  "Gaspard." 

"You  are  too  modest,  Monsieur  le  Prince,"  grins 
Alphonse. 

"I  am !"  answers  the  bohemian.  "With  such  happi- 
ness before  me — "  his  hollow  eyes  sparkle  as  stars 
as  they  gaze  upon  the  beauty  of  his  coming  bride — 
"an  ordinary  man  would  go  crazy;  and  I  am  sane 
enough  to  eat  this  sausage."  Moliere's  white  teeth 
close  philosophically  in  the  big  bologna;  he  passes 
crackers  with  aristocratic  grace  about  among  the 
company.  Then  he  suddenly  exclaims:  "Liable,  I 
.wondered  what  made  me  diffident.  Rousette,  your 
cigar  case,  please.  I  haven't  smoked  this  evening." 

As  the  bridegroom  contentedly  smokes  the  mana- 
ger's best  Havana,  and  the  others  seated  on  provi- 
sion cases  in  the  careless  attitudes  of  festive  Bohemia 
eat  what  they  can  lay  their  hands  upon  and  drink 
all  within  their  reach,  Rousette  arises,  and  seizing 


272          rA  PRINCE  IN  THE  GARRET 

from  Alphonse,  who  acts  ae  Ganymede,  a  glass  of 
champagne,  cries:  "I  crave  the  honor  of  proposing 
the  health  of  'The  Prince  in  the  Garret !' " 

"Pish,  drink  to  me,"  said  Ambigue  modestly,  "as 
the  lover  of  Mignonette !" 


Finis. 


A  PRINCESS  OF  PARIS 

BY 

ARCHIBALD  CLAVERING  GUNTER 


"This  story  is  one  of  Mr.  Gunter's  best,  and  those  who 
hav?  read  *  Mr.  Barnes  of  New  York*  and  'Mr.  Potter  of 
Texas'  know  the  full  meaning  of  this  statement." — Loyal Amcr 
if  an,  Minneapolis. 

'"The  Princess  of  Paris '  is  decidedly  the  best  thing  that 
Mr  Gunter  has  done  in  way  of  giving  him  a  distinctive  place 
among  authors  of  to-day.  It  intr.duces  a  good  deal  of  history 
connected  with  the  reign  of  Louis  Phillipe,  the  great  Louisiana 
bubble,  and  the  beginnings  of  modern  banking  methods,  one 
of  the  most  interesting  epochs  in  the  history  of  France.  This 
adds  to  the  charm  and  value  of  the  book.  Altogether,  '  The 
Princess  of  Paris'  reminds  one  strongly  of  the  writings  of  the 
great  master  of  romance — Dumas,  the  elder — and  in  point  of 
interest  it  is  exceeded  by  nothing  which  the  renowned  French- 
man  ever  wrote." — Rochester  Courier. 

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THE   KING'S  STOCKBROKER 

THE   SEQUEL  TO 

A    PRINCESS    OF    PARIS 

"  Full  of  exciting  incident  and  dramatic  situations." — Neu 
Orleans  Picayune. 

"  The  work  is  clean,  wonderfully  well  written  and  an  ex- 
Jeedingly  dramatic  bit  of  literature." — Forte  Wayne  News. 

Cloth,  $1.50         .         .         Paper,  50  Cents 


For  sale  by  alt  booksellers,  or  sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of 
price,  by 

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A  Novel  of  Startling  Interest 

in  the  complications  which  have  lately  arisen  in    the 
Far  East  between 

RUSSIA  AND  JAPAN 

"  "Tang'led  Flag's" 

By  ARCHIBALD  CLAVERING  GUNTER 

'  The  hero  of  the  story  is  a  Japanese  officer  educated 
at  West  Point  and  purchasing  artillery  for  his  govern- 
ment from  an  American  Connecticut  arms  manufactory. 
His  views  on  Russian  aggression  are  typical  of  the  ideas 
of  his  country. 

No  novel  in  recent  years  has  had  a  larger  sale 

"A  rattling  romance.*'— New  York  Herald. 

"Mr.  Gunter  will  retain  his  public  as  long  as  he  turns  out  such  hocftra  M 
Tangled  Flags.'  " — New  York  Ma",  and  Ex f  rest. 

"  'Tangled  Rags'  is  a  book  well  worthy  to  begin  the  literature  of  the  new 
century.  Osuri  Katsuma  stands  forth  as  strongly  as  any  of  Dumas  s  heroes.'* 
—The  Literary  Newt. 

"While  the  flags  of  the  nations  are  becoming  entangled  in  Peking,  it  is 
•mall  wonder  that  these  people,  so  diverse  in  character  and  training  and  purpose, 
should  entangle  their  fortunes  and  affairs.  But  few  living  novelists  have  the 
genius  and  the  personal  acquaintance  with  the  scenes  and  events  that  will  help- 
to  weave  them  into  such  a  satisfactory  romance  as  'Tangled  Flags.'  "— 
Bookseller,  Newsdealer  and  Stationer. 


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Have  You  Read 


Fighting  Troubadour 

By 

ARCHIBALD  CLAVERINQ  QUNTER 

AUTHOR  OF 

"Mr.  Barnes  of  New  York,"  "A  Princess  of  Paris," 
"M.  S,  Bradford,  Special,"  etc.,  etc. 

XII  IS    TSO  VI.I.  18    DIVIDED    INTO  FOUR 
TREMENDOUS  EPISODES: 

Book  I.—  THE  GIFT  OF  THE  BATTLE-FIELD 
Book  H.—  THE  PRINCESS  MARIA 
Book  HI.—  THE  SINGING  GIRL  OF  CREMONA 
Book  IV.—  A  WILD  NIGHT  IN  MIRANDOLA 

It  ends  with  probably  the  most  extraordinary  and 
powerful  climax  ever  put  in  the  pages  of  a  book  or  on 
the  stage  of  a  theatre. 

The  time  of  the  story  is  the  same  as  Mr.  Gunter 
treated  in  "  The  Princess  of  Paris  "  and  "The  King's 
Stockbroker,"  two  books  which  have  probably  been  as 
successful  as  any  historical  novels  ever  written,  the 
first  sales  of  them  being  over  1  70,  ooo  copies  in  America 
and  Canada,  exclusive  of  the  English  editions. 


Cloth,  $  1.50     Paper,  50  cents. 


SENT  PREPAID  ON  RECEIPT  OP  PRICE  BY 


Lately  'Published 


PHIL  CONWAT 

-By 

Archibald  Clavering  Gunter 

THIS   extraordinary  story    of   how   a  trip    to    Central 
America   nearly  ruined  the  happiness  of  one   of  New 
York's  great  speculators  and  financiers  equals  in  interest 
the  famous  novel  "MR.  BARNES  OF  NEW  YORK,"  by  the  same 
author,  and  consequently  will  have   the   same  unprecedented 
number  of  readers. 

The  following  partial  list  of  chapters  will  convey  in  part, 
th«  scope  and  interest  of  this  most  dramatic  novel : 

JM  A  BACHELOR'S  APARTMENT  HOUSE 

THE  REVELATION  OF  THE  PARROT'S  CAGE 
THE  BROKEN  SCISSORS 

THE  LADY  AT  THE  HOTEL  WINDOW 
/H*  WIFE  OF  THE  REFUGEE 

THB  TELEGRAM  SENT  FROM  COBAN 

THE  DAUGHTER  OF  THE  FUGITIVE 

ON  THE  DECK  OF  THE  NEW  ORLEANS  BOAT 
Tna  LITTLE  FLAT  IN  FIFTY-EIGHTH  STREET 
A  TETE-A-TETE  MULEBACK  RIDE 

His  MAGNIFICENT  ENEMY 

THE  OPEN  TELEPHONI 
A  I.»DY  VISITS  THE  BACHELOR'S  FLAT 
THB  FAIRY  BRIDAL  GIFT 

"BEFORE  THE  ALTAR  I  BuRY   MY  FATHER'S  WRONGS*' 

"HER  LIFE  FIRST,  HER  LOVE  AFTERWARDS" 
THE  SURPRISES  OF  A  NIGHT 

Ctcth.  £1.5O  Taper,  5O  cents 

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Hurst  and  Company, 
PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK. 


M.  S.  Bradford 

Special 

A  MARVELOUS  STORY  OF  THE  DAY 


...  BY ... 

ARCHIBALD  CLAVERING  GUNTER 

Author  of 

"  Mr.  Barnes  of  New  York,"  "  Bob  Covington," 
"Billy  Hamilton,"  "Jack  Curzon,"  Etc. 


The  Book  is  divided  into  three  most  unique  yet  audacious 
episodes,  entitled: 

1.    THE  INVESTIGATION  DOWN  TOWN 
II.    THE  ROMANCE   UP  TOWN 
III.    ADAM  AND  EVE  IN  WALL   STREET 


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A  Lost  American 

AN  EXCITING  TALE  OF  CUBA 


BY 


ARCHIBALD  CLAVERING  GUNTER 


AUTHOR   OF 


"  Mr.  Barnes  of  New  York, "  "  The  King's  Stock- 
broker," etc.,  etc. 

"  The  plot  of  Mr.  Gunter's  latest  novel  is  laid 
in  Cuba,  during  the  ten  years'  war.  The 
scenes  and  incidents  of  the  story  gives  ad- 
ditional interest  in  view  of  the  late  conflict,  and 
much  capital  is  made  out  of  our  instinctive 
horror  of  Spanish  methods  of  warfare.  The 
hero  of  the  story  is  an  American,  imprisoned 
without  trial,  in  a  Cuban  dungeon  and  sentenced 
to  be  shot.  .  .  .  Once  started  we  find  no 
breathing  space  until  Howard  has  happily 
married  his  lady  love." — The  Amherst  Literary 
Monthly. 

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of  price,  by 

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Eightieth  Thousand. 

Her  Senator 

BY 

ARCHIBALD  CLAVFRING  GUNTER, 

AUTHOR  OF 

"  Mr.  Barnes  of  New  York,"  etc.,  etc. 


1  One  of  Mr.  Gunter*s  best  works  i  written  in  his  breezy  style, 
ai.d  interesting  throughout."  —  Argus,  Albany,  N.  Y.t  April  /?,  1896. 

"  Will  certainly  meet  with  instant  favor."  —  Cambridge  Prest. 
April  16,  1896. 

"  As  a  portraiture  of  political  Intrigue  and  social  dissipation  and 
mercenary  plottings,  as  dramatized  in  Newport,  Narragansett, 
Denver,  New  York  and  Washington  City,  by  players  in  high  life 
and  low  life,  the  author  takes  the  palm."  —  Christian  Leader,  Afrit 


'Will  help  pass  many  summer  moments."  —  Herald,  Grand  Rapids* 
April  ia,  fS$6. 


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The  SPY  COMPANY 

A     Tale    of    The    Mexican     War 
By  ARCHIBALD    CLAVERING    GUNTER 


"A  stirring  tale  of  love  and  fighting,  quite  in  Mr.  Gunter's  old-time 
manner." — Neiu  York  American,  January  31,  1903. 

"A  worthy  successor  to  '  Mr.  Barnes  of  New  York,'  and  '  Mr.  Potttr 
of  Texas." — The  North  Am:rhant  Phila.,  Pa.,  February  15,  1903. 

"A  tale  of  stirring  incidents  and  ingenious  plot  ....  A  novel  in 
which  there  is  no*  one  dull  moment." — The  Literary  New,"  New  York, 
March,  1903. 

"  No  chapter  in  the  history  of  these  United  States  is  more  picturesque  and 
romantic  than  that  which  relates  to  the  acquisition  of  Texas.  In  the  'forties,* 
when  Texas  was  in  a  transition  state,  held  by  Mexico,  claiming  to  be  an  inde- 
pendent nation  and  drifting  into  the  possession  of  the  United  States,  all  at  the 
same  time,  the  local  situation  was  as  complicated  as  the  most  imaginative  novel- 
ist could  desire,  and  this  involved  state  of  affairs  was  cleared  up  by  the  Mexican 
War,  just  in  the  right  way  to  afford  a  strong  climax.  Full  advantage  of  these 
attractive  elements  has  been  taken  by  Archibald  Clavering  Gunter,  author  of 
'Mr.  Barnes  of  New  York,"  in  his  latest  work,  '  The  Spy  Company.** 

— Evening  TelegrafA,  Philadelphia,  January  31,  1903. 


Very  handsomely  illustrated.     Frontispiece  in  colors 
Cloth,  $1.50  Paper,  50  Cents 

At  all  booksellers  or  sent  prepaid  on  receipt  of  price    by 

Hurst  and   Company, 
PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK. 


Baron  Montez 

of  Panama  and  Paris, 

A  NOVEL. 

BY 

ARCHIBALD  CLAVERING  GUNTER, 

AUTHOR  OF 
"Mr.  Barnes  of  New  York,"  "Mr.  Potter  of  Teaou,"  etc. 


"  Here,  certainly,  is  a  rattling  story.** 

— N.  Y.  Times,  June  5th,  1893. 

"Mr.  Gunter  has  written  nothing  better  than  the 
volume  before  us,  and  that  is  high  praise  indeed,  for 
his  writings  in  recent  years  have  had  a  world -wide 
reputation." 

—Ohio  State  Journal,  Columbus,  May  29,  1893. 

44  With  the  merit  of  continuous  and  thrilling  interest." 
— Chicago  Times,  May  27,  1893. 

"  The  latest  of  Mr.  Gunter's  popular  romances  will  be 
read  with  interest  by  the  many  who  have  already  followed 
the  fortunes  of  '  Mr.  Barnes  of  New  York,'  and  '  Mr. 
Potter  of  Texas.' " 

—  The  Times,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  May  20,  1893. 

44  This  is  a  story  of  thrilling  interest." 

—Christian  Leader,  Cincinnati,  June  6,  1893, 


t  some  of  America  * 
ablest   Critics  say  of 


JACK  CURZON 

•By 
ARCHIBALD  CLAVERING  GUNTER 


uWe  find  a  story  of  great  vivacity  In  A.  C.  Canter's  *Jack  Curzon.' " — K.  Y.  Sun. 
"Is  fall  of  dash  and  abounds  with  dramatic  incident." — New  Han  in  Miming 

Km. 

"The  book  bat  lots  of  humor  in  it,  is  intensely  interesting,  and  will  certainly 
meet  with  universal  favor." — Dailj  Journal,  Pbillipsburg,  Pa. 

"Gunter  is  certainly  the  novelist  of  the  day,  who  comes  nearest  to  Alexander 
Dumas,  and  to  our  taste  he  surpasses  the  Frenchman.  If  you  doubt  this,  throw  aside 
your  encyclopedia  and  history,  and  study  the  Filipino  question,  with  Jack  Curzon  as 
your  guide  and  entertainer." — Tht  Presi-Knichrkocktr,  Albany,  N.  Y. 

"Jack  Curzon  will  be  received  with  pleasure  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  .  .  . 
Mr.  Gunter  has  all  the  faculties  of  a  successful  novelist.  He  is  a  graceful,  forceful,  pun- 
gent viler  as  occasion  requires.  He  is  a  shrewd  analyzer  of  character,  and  an  excellent 
weaver  of  plots  in  which  there  is  a  warp  and  woof  of  amusing  and  thrilling  Incident." 
—Oakland  Tribune. 

"Romance  lurks  in  every  corner  of  the  story,  Ha^a  guided  with  the  special  skill 
for  which  Mr.  Gunter  has  already  acquired  a  reputation.  The  tropical  nature  of  the 
surroundings  of  Manila  are  painted  with  spirited  color,  and  the  author's  knowledge  of 
prevailing  Spanish  conditions  is  strongly  handled.  The  story  is  throughout  one  e>f  ver- 
satile incident,  so  glowingly  touched  with  reality  that  the  clinching  argument  of  the 
scenes  so  nearly  simultaneously  with  the  American  victory  at  Manila  bring  "Jack  Cur- 
zon" forward  as  one  of  the  most  absorbing  novels  of  the  season  .  .  .  Mr.  Gunter 
could  not  well  have  written  a  novel  that  would  win  more  unanimous  Interest.  It  is 
equipped  with  every  possible  factor  to  hold  human  attention,  and  is  moreovei  pene- 
Wed  by  peculiar  mental  virility  and  color." — Baton  Ideal. 

Cloth,  $1.50  Paper,  50  Cents 

For  sale  by  all  booksellers^  or  sent  prepaid  on  rscetpt  of  pries 

NEW  YORK 
HURST  &  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


FIFTH  EDITION 


SUSAN  TURNBULL 

FOURTH  EDITION 

BALLYHO    BEY 

(THE  SEQUEL  TO  SUSAN  TURNBULL) 
BY 

Archibald  Clavering  Gunter 

AUTHOR  OF 

"  Mr.  Barnes  of  New  York,"  etc. 


In  presenting  these  two  novels,  we  feel  assured  that  no 
stories  of  greater  interest  have  ever  been  offered  to  those  who 
read,  not  only  fora  strong  story  of  the  passions  told  with  vigor, 
virility,  and  tenderness,  but  also  for  the  charming  episodes  of 
manners  and  men  of  a  most  curious  age.  The  canvas  on  which 
Mr.  Gunter  paints  his  vivid  pen  pictures  is  too  large  to  permit 
of  any  synopsis  that  would  do  justice  to  these  books.  They 
contain,  however,  besides  a  remarkable  love  story,  many 
thjilling  episodes  dealing  with  the  first  uprising  in  Greece, 
against  the  Turks,  in  1770  ;  a  most  charming  picture  of  Havana 
when  Spain  received  it  irom  England  ;  a  view  of  Colonial  life 
in  Florida  and  the  West  Indies  in  their  glory.  All  these  are 
interspersed  by  realistic  descriptions  of  London  modes,  fashions, 
and  frivolities,  at  the  time  when  the  lovely  Miss  Gunnings  were 
the  talk  of  that  great  city,  when  Walpole  Selwyn  and  Sheridan 
were  the  wits  and  the  elder  Pitt  and  Robert,  Lord  Clive,  the 
great  stars  in  its  political  firmament. 


Price  per  volume 

CLOTH,  GILT  TOP,  $1.50  PAPER,  50  CENTS 

For  sale  by  all  booksellers  or  sent  prepaid  on  receipt  of  price  by 

Hurst  and  Company. 

PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK. 


Chester 


OR 


The  First  of  the  English 


A  NOVEL 


Showing  how,  years  ago,  England  handled  the  question 
of  Spanish  barbarity  in  a  neighboring  province,  similar 
to  the  Cuban  one  that  the  United  States  has  solved 

to-day. 

— BY — 

Archibald  Clavering  Gunter 

AUTHOR  OF 
MR.  BARNES  OF  NEW  YORK,  ETC.  ETC. 


"One  of  his  cleverest  stories." — Brooklyn  Eagle \March  3,1895. 

"  A    vivid  and  dashing  sort  of  historical  romance." — San 
Francisco  Chronicle,  March  77,  1895. 

"  Always  true  to  his  historical  atmosphere." — Syracuse  Post, 
if  arch  u,  1895. 

"  As  interesting  as  hig  former  works."—  The  Argus,  Albany, 
&.  Y. 

"  The  story  shows  evidence  of  careful  research  and  historic 
Accuracy." — Newark  Daily  Advertiser. 


Hurst  and  Company, 

PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK. 


ANOTHER  GREAT  SUCCESS 

Miss  Nobody 

of  Nowhere 


BY 

ARCHIBALD  C.  GUNTER 


"Full    of  incident     and    excitement." — New     Tort 
Herald. 

"The  popularity  of  Mr.  Gunter  will  now  be  greatei 
than  ever." — Tacoma  Globe. 

<'A  story  that  will  keep  a  man  away  from  his 

meals." — Omaha  Bee. 

"There  is  not  a  dull  page  in  this  volume.*' 

— Daily  Chronicle^  London,  Jan.  14,  1891. 

"Gunter  scores  another  success." 

— Morning  Advertiser^  London,  Dec.  16,1890. 

"Well  worth  reading." 

— Galignani,  Paris,  Nov.  24,  1890. 

«*Nothing  could  exceed  its  thrilling  interest." 

— Glasgow  Herald^  Dec.  25,  1890, 

"Gunter's  latest  remarkable  story  will  not  disappoint 
his  numerous  admirers." 

— Newc0s*b  Chronicle^  Dec.  4,  1 890. 


The  Love  Adventures 
of  Al-Mansur 

Translated  from  the  original  Persian 
BY  OMAR-EL-AZIZ 


EDITED  BY 


Archibald  Clavering  Gunter 


"  An  oriental  story.  Weird  and  fascinating.  It  is  a 
well-written  novel  and  will  please  those  who  love  to  read 
of  deep  mystery  and  excitement." 

—  The  Southern  Star^  Atlanta,  Ga. 

"Al-Mansur  certainly  had  a  very  exciting  and  thrill- 
ing time  to  win  the  wife  he  wanted Not  the 

least  interesting  part  of  the  story  is  that  which  relates  to 
the  origin  of  Haroun  Al  Rachid,  which  is  a  very  entertain- 
ing little  tale." — The  Milwaukee  Journal. 

"  Full  of  the  sparkle  and  action  which  are  a  feature  of 
all  Gunter's  writings. " 

— Daily  Report,  San  Francisco,  Cal. 

Cloth,  $1.25  Paper,  50  Cents 

Sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of  price 
NEW  YORK 

HURST  &  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


' 


"  Small  Boys 

in  Big  Boots. 

A  Story  for  Children  of  AH  Ages. 

BY 

ARCHIBALD  CLAVERING  GUNTER 


AUTHOR   OF 


"Mr.  Barnes  of  New  York,"  "Mr.  Potter  of  Texas," 
''That  Frenchman  I"  etc. 


PRESS  NOTICES. 

"  It  is  novel,  vigorous  and  never  dull.    It  is  written 
especially  for  children,  but  plenty  of  grown-up  people 
will  find  themselves  capable  of  being  entertained  by  it." 
— New  York  Sun,  Oct.  nth,  1890. 

"His  boys  and  girls  are  real  flesh  and  blood  crea- 
tions. Mr.  Gunter's  book  cannot  fail  to  be  popular 
with  the  children,  and  it  bids  fair  to  be  equally  liked 
by  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  children." 

— San  Francisco  Chronicle ,  Sept.  7th,  1890. 

"It  overflows  with  humor,  and  is  the  best  juvenile 
story  book  of  the  season.    Every  boy  and  girl  in  Amer- 
ica will  want  to  read  this  clever  work  by  Mr.  Gunter. " 
— Davenport  Democrat,  Sept.  3oth,  1890. 


Magnificently  bound  and  beautifully  illustrated  by  celebrated 

artists,  it  will  be  found  one  of  the  most  entertaining 

as  well  as  elegant 

GIFT  BOOKS  OF  THE  SEASON. 


For  Sale  by  all  Booksellers. 


Ninety    Thousand  Already    Sold   of 

The  Surprises 

of  an 

Empty  Hotel 

BY  ARCHIBALD  CLAVERING  GUNTER 

THIS  most  unique  story  contains  the  interest 
of  an  almost  unsolvable  situation,  is 
brilliantly  adorned  with  wit  and  humor  and  in 
addition  has,  like  all  of  Mr.  Gunter's  books,  a 
peculiar  and  absorbing  personal  interest  in  both 
its  characters  and  events. 

It  is  divided  into  five  episodes: 
THE  EMPTY  HOSTELRY 
A  STRANGE  LADY 

A  FRENCH  LAWYER 

THE  SURRENDER  OF  A  WOMAN 
AN  ELOPEMENT  IN  A  LOCOMOBILE 

And  is  elaborately  illustrated  by  a  number  of 
double  page  pictures  by  Archie  Gunn  and  W.  B. 
Davidson. 

Cloth,  1.50  Paper,  .50  Cents 

At  all  booksellers  or  sent  postpaid  on  receipt  of 
price  by 

Hurst  and  Company, 

PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK. 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


